Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking 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 assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.