Former president has been under house arrest since August 4th. He was detained preventively, after his son Flávio Bolsonaro called a vigil for this Saturday night in front of the condominium where his father lives
Former president Jair Bolsonaro was preventively detained, this Saturday, at the request of the Federal Police. According to initial information, this is not serving a sentence, but a precautionary measure.
Bolsonaro was taken to the Federal Police (PF) facilities in Brasília, where, according to the G1 news portal, he will stay in a State room, a space reserved for authorities such as presidents of the Republic and other high-ranking public figures.
A statement issued by the Federal Police, cited by CNN Brasil, informs that the police carried out a preventive arrest warrant requested by the PF itself and authorized by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
The arrest took place in the early hours of the morning. Unmarked vehicles arrived at the former Brazilian president’s house, located in a luxury condominium in Brasília, at around 6:00 am (local time) and left the place around half an hour later. According to TV Globo, 40 minutes later Bolsonaro’s lawyers had still not been informed of the arrest.
Also according to TV Globo, Jair Bolsonaro, who was under house arrest, is the only target of the decision to preventive detention of the group of people convicted of the coup d’état in 2022 who were not the target of similar warrants.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading an attempted coup d’état to remain in power despite defeat at the polls. Bolsonaro has been under house arrest since August 4th. This Saturday, he was preventively detained by order of the Federal Supreme Court, a decision that will not, for now, have been applied to the rest of those convicted in the same trial. The remaining convicts are Alexandre Ramagem (deputy and former director of Abin), Almir Garnier (former Navy commander), Anderson Torres (former Minister of Justice and Public Security), Augusto Heleno (former minister of the Institutional Security Office), Paulo Sérgio Nogueira (former Minister of Defense) and Walter Braga Netto (former Minister of the Civil House).
According to the news portal G1, this Saturday’s arrest is not related to this conviction, but will be a preventive measure to maintain public order, after senator Flávio Bolsonaro (son of the former president) called a vigil in front of the condominium where his father lives, on Friday night. The vigil is scheduled for this Saturday night. The PF assessed that the demonstration represented a risk for participants and police officers.
Preventive detention in Brazil does not have a fixed period to end, but must be reevaluated by a judge every 90 days, in accordance with article 316 of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure.
