Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a flight risk

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

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

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.

Susan Ramos
Susan Ramos

Elara Voss is a Ruby developer and film critic who merges code with cinema in her blog.