Bolsonaro Ordered to Wear Tag and Stay at Home as Trial Over Coup Attempt Nears End

Federal police have raided the mansion of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, banned him from talking to foreign diplomats, ordered him to wear an electronic ankle tag and restricted his movements, amid fears he may try to avoid punishment for an alleged coup attempt.

- Tom Phillips

A supreme court trial examining claims that Bolsonaro was behind a murderous plot to seize power after losing the 2022 election is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.

A guilty verdict is widely seen as a foregone conclusion and political opponents have voiced concern that the far-right politician might try to dodge a sentence of up to 43 years by seeking refuge in a foreign embassy or even trying to leave the country. In February last year, Bolsonaro spent two nights inside the Hungarian embassy in the capital, Brasília, after federal police seized his passport.

Fears Bolsonaro might try to flee have intensified since Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on Brazil as a result of what he called the "witch hunt" against his rightwing ally. On Thursday, the US president published a letter to Bolsonaro on social media in which he denounced the "terrible treatment" he claimed his ally was receiving from the Brazilian government.