Brazil Court Votes To Uphold Bolsonaro’s Jailing After ‘Attempt To Flee’

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday voted to uphold the imprisonment of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was detained over the weekend for tampering with his ankle monitor using a soldering iron.

Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday from his home, where he had been under house arrest after a judge declared him a flight risk as he appeals a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup.

READ ALSO: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Detained For Trying To Break Ankle Bracelet And Flee

The far-right firebrand was convicted in September over a scheme to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 elections, that included an assassination plot against the leftist leader.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled Monday that Bolsonaro had “willfully and consciously violated the electronic monitoring equipment”.

The three other justices in the court’s first chamber also voted to uphold Bolsonaro’s detention, which will become official once the virtual session ends at 23h00 GMT.

Moraes reiterated that there had been “very serious indications of a possible attempt to flee” during a planned vigil organised by Bolsonaro’s son outside his home.

The justice pointed to the location of the nearby US embassy, and Bolsonaro’s close relationship with President Donald Trump, suggesting he may have tried to escape to seek political asylum.

During a hearing on Sunday in Brasilia, Bolsonaro stated he “experienced a certain paranoia between Friday and Saturday due to medication,” according to a Supreme Court document obtained by AFP.

He also asserted “that he had no intention of fleeing and that there was no breakage of the bracelet’s strap.”

In a video made public by the court on Saturday, Bolsonaro gave a different version of events: he said he had used a soldering iron on the monitoring bracelet out of “curiosity.”

The video showed the device badly damaged and burned, but still on his ankle.

His lawyers asked the court to reconsider the measure and return Bolsonaro to “humanitarian house arrest” due to his “state of mental confusion,” attributed to medications he is taking.

The Supreme Court already denied one appeal of Bolsonaro’s sentence, and his lawyers have until midnight on Monday to file another challenge.

AFP