On Sunday, the Evangelical and Catholic bodies of the National Congress expressed their solidarity with former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was detained by the Federal Police on the order of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The Evangelical Parliamentary Front defined him, in a memorandum, as “an elderly person in poor health,” who has the right to full defense and contradictory measures. In turn, the Catholic Parliamentary Front announced that it “denounces the brutality and judicial action that led to the issuance of his arrest warrant.” On Monday morning, the First Committee of the STF formed a majority in favor of maintaining Bolsonaro’s detention, with the votes of Moraes, Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin.
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“Every citizen has the right to due process, full defence, due process and treatment consistent with the guarantees stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic, especially the elderly person, those in poor health, and who face no risk of flight,” the evangelical group says.
The Evangelical Front also announced that what happened is “a fact that has a political and institutional impact on the Christian segment,” and stressed that the country is experiencing a moment of “extreme tension.”
Another excerpt says: “Measures of this kind, taken without absolute regard for the principle of proportionality, exacerbate divisions and undermine the population’s confidence in institutions, making the path to social pacification more difficult, and generating an environment of legal uncertainty.”
Catholic parliamentarians, in addition to expressing their solidarity with the former president, stated that the current scenario was characterized by “violence and political intolerance”:
The memorandum highlights: “We reaffirm our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, King and Lord, and our confidence that justice, peace and respect for human dignity must guide public life.”
The arrest order was issued because Moraes considered that there was a flight risk and there were no longer conditions for maintaining Bolsonaro’s house arrest. Furthermore, the former president admitted that he used a soldering iron to attempt to open the electronic ankle bracelet that he used as a precaution as determined by the STF.
Moraes stated in the order that this act reveals Bolsonaro’s intention to break equipment to facilitate a possible escape, amid the crowd of supporters called by his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ). In a video clip posted on social media, the parliamentarian called for a “vigil” prayer in front of the residential building where his father lives.
At Monday’s hearing, the first committee of the STF formed a majority to maintain the prison. In his vote, Moraes stressed that “there is no doubt about the necessity of converting house arrest to pretrial detention, given the necessity of ensuring public order, ensuring the application of the criminal law and ignoring the previously applied precautionary measures.”
Bolsonaro’s arrest is not related to the implementation of his conviction for the attempted coup. In the coup plot case, in which Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison, the decision has not yet become final, meaning there is still a deadline to submit appeals.
Bolsonaro was transferred to the National Front’s control body in Brasilia. It has a room with a single bed, air conditioning and a minibar. The space, usually reserved for guardians under the direct responsibility of police forces, recently underwent a renovation, given the possibility of Bolsonaro being arrested due to the operations he faces.