Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

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

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.

John Hart
John Hart

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