Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) judge Alexandre de Moraes decided this Monday (October 13) to keep Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest due to the former Brazilian President’s “fear of escape”.
Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the former Brazilian President’s case, rejected an appeal from Bolsonaro’s defense, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup d’état after losing the 2022 elections to the current President, Lula da Silva.
“The end of the trial on the merits of this Criminal Action 2668, with the sentencing of the defendant Jair Messias Bolsonaro to a custodial sentence of 27 years and three months, in an initial closed regime, and the well-founded fear of the defendant escaping, as has been repeatedly occurring (…), authorize the maintenance of house arrest and [medidas] precautionary measures to effectively guarantee the application of criminal law and the sentencing decision”, explained the judge, quoted by the local press.
In the decision, the judge also argued that the “guarantee of public order” and the “need to ensure the full application of criminal law” justify the maintenance of precautionary measures.
The former Brazilian President has been under house arrest since August 4th at his home in Brasília.
This decision was taken as part of a separate process from the attempted coup d’état, sentenced on September 11, a decision that can still be appealed.
In this parallel investigation, the former head of state and deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of his sons, are suspected of trying to incite the United States Government to sanction Brazilian judges and authorities in reprisal for the trial.
These maneuvers resulted in 50% tariffs on most Brazilian products, imposed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the revocation of visas for several STF judges and government officials, among other sanctions.
Despite this, Jair Bolsonaro’s defense asked for the precautionary measures to be annulled, arguing that the Public Ministry had accused Eduardo Bolsonaro and not his father and former President.
Alexandre de Moraes, however, denied the request, also alleging Bolsonaro’s “fear of escape”, after the police found an asylum request addressed to the Government of the Argentine President, Javier Milei, on one of his seized cell phones.
On Friday, Bolsonaro’s lawyers also requested a doctor’s visit to his home, due to the worsening of persistent episodes of hiccups, a recurring problem since the stab wound suffered at a rally in 2018 and which has worsened in recent months.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison, along with seven of his closest collaborators, including former ministers and senior military officers, for “leading a coup plot” to reverse his electoral defeat in 2022 and “remain in power”.
The STF has not yet published the final ruling.
After its release, the deadline for presenting appeals will open, which Bolsonaro’s defense has already guaranteed it will do.