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

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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

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

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

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.

Rhonda Bird
Rhonda Bird

Aria Chen is a tech journalist and AI researcher with over a decade of experience covering cutting-edge innovations and their societal impacts.