Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody after trying to disable his ankle bracelet, with the court citing high flight risk
BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro was taken into custody Saturday after the Supreme Court deemed him a high flight risk while under house arrest.
The court said the far-right leader had attempted to disable his ankle monitor in order to flee the country.
Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled Bolsonaro’s detention was a preventive measure as final appeals play out.
In a video made public by the court, Bolsonaro admitted using a soldering iron on the monitoring bracelet out of “curiosity.”
The video showed the device badly damaged and burned but still attached to his ankle.
The 70-year-old former president was placed under house arrest in August while appealing a 27-year prison sentence for a foiled coup attempt.
Moraes said a planned vigil outside Bolsonaro’s condominium called by his son Flavio could create turmoil “conducive to his escape.”
Flavio had urged Bolsonaro supporters to “fight for your country” ahead of the demonstration.
The judge stated the attempted disabling of the ankle monitor occurred early Saturday as part of an escape plan.
Moraes gave Bolsonaro’s attorneys 24 hours to explain the incident.
“I don’t know what’s going on inside the Federal Police now,” Flavio said in a live video broadcast.
He suggested his father might have burned the ankle monitor as an “act of desperation” or out of “shame.”
Moraes highlighted the proximity of Bolsonaro’s home to the US embassy, raising asylum concerns.
Bolsonaro has been taken to a federal police complex in Brasilia for medical examinations before potential jail transfer.
A group of women gathered outside police headquarters and celebrated Bolsonaro’s imprisonment with sparkling wine.
“The biggest scoundrel, the worst guy…who screwed everyone over, who attempted a coup, and now he’s going to pay,” said philosophy teacher Ana Denise Sousa.
Supporters also arrived at the scene, with one calling the detention “political persecution.”
Bolsonaro’s defense team said they would appeal the detention which “could put his life at risk” due to his health issues.
The former president suffers ongoing consequences from a 2018 stabbing and has required several follow-up surgeries.
Bolsonaro was convicted in September of leading a criminal organization that conspired to ensure his “authoritarian hold on power.” – AFP
