The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

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

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.

Billy Jordan
Billy Jordan

Lieke is een ervaren contentstrateeg met een passie voor duurzaamheid en storytelling.