A Brazilian supreme court judge has eased the terms of Jair Bolsonaro’s house arrest, allowing the far-right former president to receive visits from family members without prior judicial approval.
The former paratrooper turned populist has been under house arrest since Monday, when Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the measure on the grounds that Bolsonaro had allegedly violated court orders.
In his initial ruling, Moraes permitted Bolsonaro to receive only his lawyers and the family members he lives with at a mansion in Brasília: his wife, Michelle, his daughter and his stepdaughter.
All other relatives were required to seek judicial authorisation, a restriction that has now been lifted.
“I authorise visits from the detainee’s sons, daughters-in-law, granddaughters and grandsons without prior notice,” Moraes wrote, stressing that all visitors must still comply with the ban on using mobile phones or taking photos and videos of the former president.
Bolsonaro also remains barred from contacting his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman who has been in the United States since March and claims to have played a key role in persuading Donald Trump to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports – a move the US president justified as a response to what he called a “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro.
Two weeks ago, Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle tag to prevent a potential escape attempt.
In justifying last Monday’s house arrest, the justice argued that Bolsonaro had flouted a court order prohibiting the use of social media – including by third parties – by appearing via video call at Sunday rallies, a recording of which was later posted by one of his politician sons, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
Although legal experts broadly agree that the case accusing Bolsonaro of leading a coup attempt in 2022 is strong, the house arrest order has sparked a more contentious debate.
Some have defended the judge’s decision, arguing he had been “patient” with Bolsonaro’s repeated breaches of court rulings. But other legal scholars argue that it is unclear what precise violation Bolsonaro committed, noting that he was not explicitly banned from speaking at public events.
In response to Moraes’s latest ruling, politicians aligned with Bolsonaro have blocked congressional proceedings, demanding that lawmakers vote to impeach the supreme court justice and grant amnesty to the hundreds accused of involvement in the alleged coup attempt – including the ransacking of Brasília on 8 January 2023.
The case against the 70-year-old politician is at an advanced stage and a verdict is expected as early as next month, with Bolsonaro facing a potential sentence of more than 40 years in prison.
