Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, FlĂ¡vio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept 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 Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, BrasĂlia.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 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 competing in the 2026 national vote.