Former Brazilian president arrested

On Saturday, November 22, Brazil’s Federal Police arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro at his home in Brasília.

A statement from the Federal Police said it had carried out a preventive arrest warrant that the agency had requested and which was approved by the Federal Supreme Court.

According to the statement, police officers arrived on Saturday morning local time at Bolsonaro’s residence, an apartment in Brasília. The former president has since been transferred to the Federal Police headquarters.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers have asked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to allow him to serve his 27-year sentence under house arrest, citing concerns about his health.

According to a document seen by Reuters, Bolsonaro’s lawyers argued that the 70-year-old former president’s recurring health problems would make imprisonment life-threatening for him.

Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen during the 2018 election campaign in the state of Minas Gerais.

Earlier, a five-judge panel from Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison. After losing the 2022 election, he was convicted of conspiring to stage a coup to remain in power.