Key points:
- Bolsonaro detained Saturday while appealing a twenty-seven-year coup sentence.
- Justices cited deliberate violation of electronic monitoring with soldering iron.
- Court noted serious indications Bolsonaro possibly attempted to flee.
- Bolsonaro blamed paranoia from medication and denied fleeing intentions.
- Lawyers requested humanitarian house arrest citing his mental confusion.
BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld the imprisonment of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was detained over the weekend for allegedly tampering with his court-mandated ankle monitor using a soldering iron.
Bolsonaro was taken into custody on Saturday from his residence, where he had been serving house arrest after a judge deemed him a flight risk while he appeals a 27-year sentence for orchestrating a failed coup attempt.
The far-right former leader was convicted in September for a plot to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from assuming office after the 2022 elections, a scheme that included an assassination plan targeting the leftist president.
Bolsonaro Intentionally violated the electronic monitoring equipment
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 became official when the virtual session ended at 8:00 pm local time (2300 GMT).
Moraes reiterated that there had been “very serious indications of a possible attempt to flee” during a planned vigil organized by Bolsonaro’s son outside his home.
The justice pointed to the location of the nearby US embassy, and Bolsonaro’s close relationship with US 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.”
Bolsonaro’s state of mental confusion
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 night to file another challenge
