🔗 Share this article

He fought the law and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months following being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Jailing

The found-guilty instigator – who had been subject to house arrest in his residence while a number of judicial steps and petitions play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid mounting rumors that he will be sent to a well-known top-security prison.

Previous Statements on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the far-right ex- military man showed minimal mercy for the country's prison population.

“What’s the need to offer these dirtbags a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to end up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”

Jail Facility Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, several of whom this week toured the facility in an seeming bid to discourage the judiciary from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he expected the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal issues – the result of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He cannot to cope if they take him to Papuda … It will be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells containing four dozen inmates: “That’s almost one meter squared per prisoner.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the awful meals,” added the senator.

Allies React

He is not the lone figure speaking out ahead of the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.

Writing in a leading newspaper, another ally, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the greatest unfairness in its history”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied Public Response

It is possibly correct considering the considerable following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his anticipated incarceration has also gladdened the hearts of millions others who feel he should be imprisoned for planning to stop the elected leader from assuming office – and additionally plotting to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the current leader's Workers’ party, said: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to get proper care – but respectful treatment while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have long applauding the severe conditions of inmates, had abruptly realized to their rights. “Only now has the far-right – which has always argued that human rights should not be for offenders – decided to tour a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he stated.

“The former president is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, insulting handling”.

Possible Prison Conditions

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “particular” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive leader's home, around 20 kilometers away.

As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – approximately the area of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources suggested.

Ideological Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his fate in the {