The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years 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 next presidential race.

Abigail Miller
Abigail Miller

A seasoned casino gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot systems and player strategy optimization.