🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office 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 intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.