Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, was reportedly detained at his villa and transferred to a federal police facility on Saturday, November 22. His lawyers say they are baffled by the situation.
The 70-year-old former president was sentenced to 27 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the winner of the 2022 election, from taking office. His legal team had previously argued that he should serve his sentence at home, claiming that imprisonment would pose a risk to his health. However, the court has not yet ordered him to begin serving the sentence while various legal proceedings and appeals remain ongoing.
Bolsonaro’s supporters planned to hold a “vigil” on Saturday evening outside the luxury apartment where he had been under house arrest since August. The protest was announced by his son, Flávio Bolsonaro, in a video posted on social media.
In recent days, speculation that Bolsonaro’s arrest was imminent had reached a fever pitch, with his allies expressing outrage over reports that he might be sent to Papuda, a high-security prison in Brazil.
The exact reason for his detention remains unclear, but the Brazilian court stated that Bolsonaro was arrested because he was considered a flight risk.
