Marcelo Sayao / EPA
Former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro
Video released by the Federal Supreme Court shows the electronic bracelet heavily damaged by a welder. Bolsonaro was preventively arrested due to the high risk of escape this Saturday.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was placed in preventive detention this Saturday, admitted to the authorities that he had used a welder to manipulate the electronic bracelet by “curiosity”.
“I put the hot iron in there. Curiosity”said Bolsonaro, according to a video recorded by an agent and released by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
In the video in question it is possible to check the damage to the electronic bracelet caused by burns. According to the expert report, the bracelet that was fastened to the former President’s ankle with the device “did not show any structural damage”, although it was necessary to replace it with another one.
However, STF judge Alexandre de Moraes gave Bolsonaro’s defense 24 hours to explain his client’s behavior.
The former head of state, sentenced in September to another 27 years in prison for an attempted coup d’état, this Saturday morning at his residence in Brasília.
Bolsonaro, sentenced to another 27 years in prison for attempted coup d’état, was under house arrest at his home in Brasília when he was arrested by Federal Police agents due to the “flight risk” and to one “threat to public order”.
“It is clear that the convict intended to break the ankle bracelet [pulseira] electronics to ensure success in your escape, facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son“, indicated the judge, citing the proximity of Bolsonaro’s residence to foreign embassies.
Private bathroom, TV, air conditioning: the room where Bolsonaro is imprisoned
Bolsonaro has been in a room at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília since 6:30 am local time, where he will have a private bathroom, television and air conditioning, according to local media.
Convicted of an attempted coup d’état, Bolsonaro will be held in custody in a room measuring approximately twelve square meters and will have medical assistance available 24 hours a day due to his recurring health problems, according to the STF’s decision.
This reserved space is known as “State Room” and is adapted to accommodate authorities, as well as public figures, according to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
The former President will only be able to receive visits with prior judicial authorization and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the STF released the document that rejects the first appeals presented by the former President and that formalizes his sentence to 27 years and three months for having been found guilty, among other crimes, of a violent attempt to abolish the democratic rule of law and a coup d’état following the 2022 elections, which he lost to Lula da Silva.
The decision was published in the Electronic Justice Gazette, meaning that the deadline for the former head of state’s last appeals (2019-2022) is approaching the end, as the defenses have until Sunday, November 23rd, to present an appeal.
With the publication of the document, the defense will be able to try a new appeal, although knowing that it could be automatically rejected.
On September 11, Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison, after a majority in the Federal Supreme Court declared the former President guilty of violent attempt to abolish the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, participation in an armed criminal organization, qualified damage and deterioration of property.
