A supreme court judge has given Brazil’s ex-president, Jair Bolsonaro, 48 hours to explain police claims he was planning to flee to Argentina to avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup after losing the 2022 election.

Bolsonaro’s trial for the alleged attempt to seize power is scheduled to conclude early next month. The far-right populist faces more than four decades in prison if found guilty.

Court documents made public on Wednesday night showed federal police investigators had found a draft asylum request on the ex-president’s mobile phone addressed to Argentina’s rightwing president, Javier Milei. In the undated and unsigned document, Bolsonaro claimed he was “facing imminent arrest”​ for political motives and needed “urgent” sanctuary overseas.

An Argentinian government source told the Reuters news agency that Milei’s office had not received a letter. But Brazilian police claimed the document indicated Bolsonaro had “planned to flee the country, in order to prevent the law being enforced”.