🔗 Share this article

The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.