Bolsonaro seeks house arrest again after alleged monitor tampering

Lawyers for Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro have once again asked the Supreme Court to place him under house arrest on health grounds, a few days after he was detained for allegedly tampering with his electronic ankle monitor.

Brazilian news agency Agencia Brasil reported the application on Sunday, citing his lawyers, who argue that Bolsonaro’s health is “endangered for various reasons.”

Bolsonaro was detained on Saturday after the device sent an alert indicating possible manipulation. A video later released by the court showed him admitting to using a soldering iron on the monitor out of “curiosity”; In the images, it was seen that part of the plastic case was burned.

A police officer said the device remained operational.

His lawyers argued that Bolsonaro did not try to remove the group, saying the video and the officer’s assessment did not show an attempt to disrupt the group. During the trial, Bolsonaro told investigators he was experiencing “hallucinations.”

According to his legal team, based on a medical report, Bolsonaro was disoriented due to the combined effects of many medications he was taking. Bolsonaro was said to be suffering from lung infections, gastritis, skin cancer, persistent hiccups and complications from an attack during the 2018 campaign.

Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes decided to detain Bolsonaro as a precautionary measure, citing the damage to the device and that the vigil planned to be held in front of Bolsonaro’s house could interrupt the monitoring.

The 70-year-old man had been under house arrest since August for violating court orders. A separate request to keep him there for health reasons was rejected on Friday.

The arrest is separate from the more than 27-year prison sentence Bolsonaro received for the attempted coup in September following his election defeat in 2022, which has not yet been finalized.