【Text by Observer Net, Wang Yi】One day after being arrested by Brazilian police, the country's former president Bolsonaro denied to a judge that he had attempted to flee, arguing that the paranoia and hallucinations caused by medication led him to damage the electronic ankle monitor.

According to Reuters on November 23, after learning that Bolsonaro's ankle monitor had been damaged, Brazilian Federal Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes concluded that Bolsonaro, who was under house arrest, "intended to destroy the ankle monitoring device to ensure a successful escape," and issued a preventive arrest warrant at around midnight on the 22nd. A few hours later, Brazilian police arrested him at his home and transported him to the headquarters of the Federal Police.

The report said that on the local time of the 23rd, Bolsonaro denied in a 30-minute detention hearing that he had any intention of fleeing or attempting to remove the electronic ankle monitor.

Bolsonaro stated that different doctors prescribed various anti-epileptic drugs for his chronic hiccups, which caused him hallucinations, making him believe that the ankle monitor contained listening devices. At the time, he was alone, while his daughter, brother, and an advisor were asleep at home.

According to court documents seen by Reuters, "the witness stated that he destroyed the ankle monitor around midnight, then 'regained his senses,' stopped using the electric iron (to damage the ankle monitor), and then informed the guards."

Video screenshot of the damaged electronic ankle monitor of Bolsonaro

The judge presiding over the hearing on the 23rd decided to continue holding Bolsonaro in custody, determining that the officers followed all applicable laws during the arrest. That day, Bolsonaro's supporters waved banners and flags outside the police station where he was detained, protesting.

Bolsonaro is currently held in a 12-square-meter cell at the headquarters of the Federal Police in Brazil, which includes a bed, TV, air conditioning, and an independent bathroom. A panel of judges from Brazil's Supreme Court will meet on the 24th to review his case.

Bolsonaro's legal team again requested on the 23rd that he be placed under "humanitarian house arrest."

On July, US President Trump imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products exported to the US, citing that Bolsonaro was being "politically persecuted," causing strong dissatisfaction from the Brazilian government and public opinion. However, Trump began partially withdrawing this measure from November 20, exempting imports of beef, coffee, cocoa, and fruits.

Trump told reporters on the 22nd that he was unaware of Bolsonaro's detention. He said, "Is that true? That's too bad," and added that he had just spoken with Brazilian President Lula, saying, "I think we will meet soon."

Lula responded to related questions at the G20 summit, defending the decision of Brazil's Supreme Court, stating, "The court made its ruling. He (Bolsonaro) underwent trial and has all the rights of presumption of innocence. He will serve the sentence as determined by the court. Everyone knows what he did."

In October 2022, Bolsonaro lost the Brazilian presidential election to Lula, but he did not accept the defeat, claiming there was "electoral fraud." A few days after Lula took office in January 2023, some of Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, clashing with law enforcement officers.

Afterward, the Brazilian judicial authorities investigated the incident and filed multiple charges. Prosecutors stated that the coup plot included assassinating Lula and inciting the rebellion in early 2023. Bolsonaro was also convicted of leading armed criminal organizations and attempting to overthrow democratic rule through violence. Bolsonaro denied all the charges.

This September, Brazil's Federal Supreme Court declared that Bolsonaro's plot to stage a coup was proven, sentencing him to 27 years and three months in prison. Bolsonaro became the first former president in Brazilian history to be convicted of planning a coup.

Since then, Bolsonaro has been appealing, and has not exhausted all appeal avenues, and the court has not yet issued a final arrest order. Local media reported that once Bolsonaro exhausts all appeal avenues, it is expected that he will begin serving his sentence at some point this week.

The New York Times noted that in the weeks before his arrest on the 22nd, discussions about when Bolsonaro would officially be imprisoned were intensifying. After the Supreme Court's decision, he was under house arrest, and multiple appeals by his lawyers were rejected this month.

On the day before the ankle monitor incident, Bolsonaro's lawyer applied to the court to allow him to serve his sentence at home due to health issues, stating that Bolsonaro had post-traumatic symptoms following a stabbing to his abdomen during a campaign in 2018. His lawyer wrote on social media that Bolsonaro frequently experienced hiccups and vomiting, "making it impossible for him to live safely in a prison environment."

After being arrested on the 22nd, the court rejected the request for house arrest. However, U.S. media believe that once Bolsonaro is formally imprisoned, they may still submit medical evidence to apply for house arrest.

This is not the first time Bolsonaro has been suspected of fleeing. The New York Times mentioned that Brazilian police found during a raid targeting Bolsonaro and his inner circle last year that he seemed to be planning to seek asylum in Argentina. Later, he stayed two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brazil, seen as seeking asylum from right-wing allies.

Bolsonaro's son living in the United States earlier this year lobbied Trump to help his father, raising concerns about Bolsonaro possibly flying to the United States. Reuters pointed out that Bolsonaro had been under house arrest for more than 100 days before his arrest because of suspicion of attempting to get Trump's intervention to help himself.

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Brazilian goods exported to the US in April, and later added an additional 40% retaliatory tariff due to Bolsonaro's trial, increasing the total tariff Brazil faced from the US to 50%. In July, the US also sanctioned Judge Moraes, who was responsible for adjudicating the case, citing "political persecution."

Lula wrote an article in the New York Times in September, making his first public response to Bolsonaro's conviction, saying he felt "proud" of the Supreme Court's ruling, which "protected our institutions and democratic rule," and "this is not 'political persecution' as claimed by Trump and other American officials."

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Net, and without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576266040050237967/

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