🔗 Share this article

He contested the law and the law triumphed.

A couple of months after getting a 27-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.

Imminent Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who's been under home confinement in his mansion while a series of court processes and challenges unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the next few days, amidst growing speculation that he will be sent to a well-known maximum security facility.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former paratrooper showed scant compassion for the country's jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we give those scoundrels a good life?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish behind bars, all you have to do is not sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Jail Destination Debate

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent bid to discourage the supreme court from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, stated he expected the elderly leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious gut issues – the result of a near-fatal knife attack during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He cannot to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells accommodating four dozen detainees: “It's virtually one meter squared per detainee.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Supporters React

Lucas is not the only voice speaking out ahead of the former president’s expected detention.

Writing in a major publication, another ally, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the largest wrong in its past”.

“It represents an unfairness that erodes the spirits of millions people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied Popular Opinion

It is possibly correct given the significant support Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. But his predicted imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of millions individuals who feel he deserves to be incarcerated for plotting to block the incoming president from taking power – and even plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the incumbent administration's allied group, said: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive proper care – but proper care while incarcerated. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time applauding the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Recently has the extreme right – which has always argued that human rights were not for offenders – chosen to visit a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“The former president is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, insulting handling”.

Possible Incarceration Facilities

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of prisoners, his probable destination appears to be a close prison for law enforcement and other “particular” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the impressive presidential palace, around 20 kilometers away.

As per sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” information indicated.

Partisan Comments

The lawmaker denounced the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his fate in the {