🔗 Share this article

He contested the legal system and the law won.

Two months after being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems headed to prison.

Imminent Jailing

The adjudicated plotter – who had been living under house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and petitions play out – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the next few days, amidst mounting talk that he will be sent to a well-known maximum security penitentiary.

Past Comments on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited scant sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“Why should we offer those lowlifes a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They should just get fucked, period. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up in prison, you simply need is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Debate

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, a group of four this week toured the complex in an apparent attempt to dissuade the judiciary from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he predicted the 70-year-old politician to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal problems – the result of a almost deadly stabbing during the last political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s practically one square meter per inmate.

“We conversed to the convicts and they complain, naturally, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

He is not the only voice voicing opinions prior to the former president’s predicted imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent daily, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to see “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the hearts of many of Brazilians,” he stated.

Divided Popular Opinion

That may be true due to the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the hearts of millions others who believe he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and even scheming to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the incumbent administration's Workers’ party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to obtain respectful care – but proper care while incarcerated. He cannot carry on being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long celebrating the severe treatment of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently claimed that basic rights are not for criminals – opted to inspect a prison to find out what situations are truly like,” he stated.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, degrading treatment”.

Possible Jail Conditions

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 detainees, his expected destination seems to be a close prison for officers and other “particular” inmates called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the impressive official residence, around a short distance away.

Based on reports, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the area of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 square meter bathroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a TV and even a cooler in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” sources stated.

Political Comments

The lawmaker denounced the rumoured proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his fate in the {