Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.