Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing

placeholder news image

Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.

Cynthia Ramirez
Cynthia Ramirez

Liam is a seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in the betting industry, sharing expert picks.