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Rabat – The Brazilian Supreme Court, led by Justice Alexandre De Moraes, placed former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday ahead of his coup trial.
This comes as Bolsonaro is standing trial on charges of conspiring to start a coup in January 2023.
The decision comes a day after protests in support of the far-right President were held across Brazil.
A media representative for Bolsonaro confirmed that the police had placed him under house arrest at his Brasilia residency on August 4.
The police have reportedly taken away all phones from the house, stopped Bolsonaro from meeting anyone apart from lawyers and family, and put him in an ankle bracelet.
The house arrest order was issued directly from the Supreme Court due to violations of court rulings, including the use of social media.
Judge Moraes stated that Bolsonaro’s actions included “a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court for foreign intervention in the Brazilian judiciary.”
The current President Lula da Silva, who won the 2022 election and is Bolsonaro’s main rival, stated, “The Brazilian government stands in solidarity with Moraes who is the target of sanctions motivated by actions of the Brazilian politicians who betrayed our country and our people.”
Jair Bolsonaro has denied all the accusations and called the trial a politically motivated witch-hunt. The investigation is linked back to the storming of the Brazilian Congress and Senate in January 2023 by far-right supporters.
A criminal conviction could land Bolsonaro with as much as a 12-year prison sentence for the coup, but the final verdict could result in an even harsher penalty.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, congressman and son of the former President, said that Moraes was “an out-of-control psychopath who never hesitates to double down.”
The Trump administration has also responded to the trial and called for clemency for Bolsonaro. They have threatened to put a 50% tariff on Brazil unless they drop the trial.
The political messaging from Trump has built up far-right support for the President. But it has also triggered a large backlash from observers who see this as foreign interference in the nation’s judiciary.
This trial will be an important moment in the democratic history of Latin America and Brazil.
