The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a risk of fleeing

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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

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

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

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

Renee Richardson
Renee Richardson

Award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience covering UK politics and international affairs.