🔗 Share this article

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

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.