Former President’s ankle‑monitor tampering leads supreme court to order immediate jail detention

Brasilia (The Uttam Hindu): Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday issued a tough stance, upholding the detention of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The court took this drastic step after Bolsonaro admitted to trying to break an ankle monitor while under house arrest. The Supreme Court considered his actions a deliberate attempt to flee the country and escape his 27-year sentence.

70-year-old Bolsonaro was detained Saturday morning at the Federal Police Headquarters in the capital, Brasilia. A four-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decided that he would be held in preventive detention. Justice Alessandre de Morais, who issued the arrest warrant, clarified that the risk of Bolsonaro absconding was very high. Significantly, Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and he has been under house arrest since August.

During the hearing, Bolsonaro presented a strange defense. He told the assistant judge that a change in medication had caused him to experience anxiety and confusion, worsening his mental state, and that he attempted to break the monitoring device. His lawyers and doctors also claimed the same. However, Judge Moraes rejected this argument, writing in his order that Bolsonaro had engaged in serious inappropriate behavior and was disrespecting the court by repeatedly violating the precautionary conditions. According to reports, the device attached to his heel was tampered with at 12:08 pm on Saturday, and his arrest order was issued just hours later.

This incident has heated up the political atmosphere in Brazil. As news of the arrest spread, supporters and opponents of Bolsonaro took to the streets in several cities across the country, although the number of protesters remained low due to rain on Monday. The coming week is expected to be tense as the parliamentary session resumes. Meanwhile, the former president's son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, has announced that he will continue his efforts to introduce an amnesty bill for his father. Flavio is eyeing the 2026 elections, where he himself could be a potential candidate.