Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonario was arrested and taken into federal custody on Saturday, his lawyer told Reuters and Brazilian police confirmed. The far-right former president had been under house arrest for several months after being sentenced in September by Brazil’s Supreme Court to 27 years in prison for carrying out a failed coup attempt in 2022 after losing the presidential election to the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro awaits his appeal against the sentence.
Celso Vilardi, Bolsonaro’s lawyer, did not specify the reason for the former president’s arrest. A person close to the case informed the agency that this is a preventive measure linked to the terms of his house arrest.
After his conviction, Brazilian justice had not yet issued a definitive arrest order, waiting for the former president to complete the appeal process of the 27 years and three months prison sentence. Since the conviction, Bolsonaro has been under house arrest.
