🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

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

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.