The former president is taken in the capital Brasilia days before starting his prison time for leading coup attempt.

Brazil’s federal police have arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro, days before he was set to begin his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, according to his lawyer and a close aide.

Bolsonaro, who has been under house arrest since August, was transferred to detention on Saturday, his lawyer said.

“He has been imprisoned, but I don’t know why,” Celso Vilardi, one of his lawyers, told the AFP news agency.

A close aide told The Associated Press news agency that the embattled former leader was taken to the police headquarters in the capital, Brasilia.

Bolsonaro’s aide Andriely Cirino confirmed to AP that the arrest took place at about 6am (03:00 GMT) on Saturday.

The force said in a short statement, which did not name Bolsonaro, that it acted on the request of Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Neither Brazil’s federal police nor the Supreme Court provided more details at the time of publication.

Sentenced for coup attempt

The 70-year-old former president was taken from his house in a gated community in the upscale Jardim Botanico neighbourhood to the federal police headquarters, Cirino said.

Local media reported that Bolsonaro, who was Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2022, was expected to begin serving his sentence sometime next week after the far-right leader exhausted all appeals of his conviction for leading a coup attempt.

The 70-year-old Bolsonaro’s legal team had previously argued that he should serve his 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid in 2022 at home, arguing imprisonment would pose a risk to his health.

Bolsonaro was convicted in September over his bid to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power following the 2022 election, which he lost.

The effort saw crowds of rioters storm government buildings a week after Lula’s inauguration, evoking comparisons with the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol after his close ally, President Donald Trump, lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Trump has branded the prosecution of his far-right ally a “witch-hunt” and made it a major issue in US relations with Brazil, imposing stiff tariffs on the country as a form of retribution.

Trump and Lula held what Brazil described as a constructive meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur last month, raising hope for improved relations after stinging US tariffs.

Lula said the meeting with Trump was “great” and added that their countries’ negotiating teams would get to work “immediately” to tackle tariffs and other issues.

A U.S.-backed framework to end the Ukraine war — assembled by special envoy Steve Witkoff, with input through both Kyiv and Moscow channels — is stirring unease among European allies and putting fresh pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy, who has ruled out recognizing Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian land, delivered one of his starkest public messages yet, warning that Kyiv is entering “one of the most difficult moments in our history.”

In remarks released on Friday by Reuters, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is under intense pressure and may soon face what he called “a very difficult choice: either losing its dignity or risking the loss of a key partner. Either 28 difficult points or an extremely difficult winter — the most difficult one yet — and further risks. Life without freedom, without dignity, without justice. And we are expected to trust someone who has already attacked us twice.”

WITKOFF MEETS UKRAINE OFFICIALS IN NEW YORK AHEAD OF EMERGENCY UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING: ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’

Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to remain disciplined as negotiations continue with Washington. “We will not make any loud statements; we will work calmly with America and all our partners,” he said. “I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process, and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy. That will not happen.”

Warning of intensified attempts to divide the country, he said Ukrainians should expect “a lot of pressure — political, informational and other kinds of pressure — to weaken us,” but vowed that “we have no right to allow that,” and insisted, “we will succeed.”

A U.S. official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital, “It was strongly implied to the Ukrainians that the United States expects them to agree to a peace deal. Any changes will be decided upon by the President himself.”

According to multiple outlets, a working draft would require Kyiv to cede the eastern Donbas region to Russia, limit long-range Western strikes inside Russia, and cap Ukraine’s armed forces at roughly 600,000 troops.

The White House says Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been “quietly working” on the plan and engaging both sides. President Donald Trump has been briefed and supports pushing to finalize the framework by the holidays. 

Zelenskyy is preparing for a call with Trump, having already spoken with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Vice President JD Vance on Friday. 

Ukraine has formally received the document. Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the United States would “work on the provisions of the plan,” and that Kyiv is ready for “constructive, honest and swift work.” He has repeatedly ruled out recognizing Russian sovereignty over any Ukrainian territory, saying earlier there can be “no reward for waging war.”

“We are working to ensure that Ukraine’s national interests are taken into account at every level of our relations with partners,” Zelenskyy posted Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

ZELENSKYY SEEKS ‘STRONG REACTION’ FROM US IF PUTIN IS NOT READY FOR BILATERAL MEETING

A Ukrainian source told Fox News Digital that Kyiv’s red lines include limits on NATO membership, territorial concessions and troop cuts. The former senior Ukrainian official called the draft’s terms “political suicide” that would leave Zelenskyy responsible “for the loss of about one-fifth of Ukraine.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Washington and Moscow are not yet discussing the proposals in detail, but that contacts were taking place. “There are certain ideas on the American side, but nothing substantive is currently being discussed. We are completely open — we maintain our openness to peace negotiations,” Peskov told reporters.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz pressed for urgency during a Security Council briefing Thursday, saying diplomacy is “the only path to a durable and just peace.” Waltz said Washington has “proposed generous terms for Russia, including sanctions relief,” and vowed that “under President Trump’s leadership, the United States will continue to pursue a path to peace in Ukraine.”

On Friday, Fox News Channel’s Gillian Turner reported that a Trump administration official said the United States has offered Ukraine a security guarantee modeled on NATO’s Article 5 — a commitment that would treat any attack on Ukraine as an attack on all and would require military defense.

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The Associated Press reported that the leaders of Germany, France and the U.K. spoke with Zelenskyy Friday to reaffirm their “unchanged and full support on the way to a lasting and just peace” as diplomats scrambled to parse a U.S. proposal many first learned about through the media. Germany’s Bild newspaper said Merz canceled a domestic appearance to hold crisis calls with both Zelenskyy and Trump.