🔗 Share this article

He contested justice and the legal system triumphed.

Two months after getting a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The found-guilty instigator – who's been under home confinement in his residence while a series of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, during increasing talk that he will be transferred to a well-known high-security prison.

Previous Comments on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long political career, the right-wing former paratrooper exhibited minimal compassion for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we offer those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be messed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish in prison, all you have to do is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Prison Facility Debate

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an obvious bid to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, stated he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be jailed in the next 10 days and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the result of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the quality of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating 40 inmates: “That’s practically one square meter per inmate.

“We conversed to the inmates and they protest, naturally, of the terrible cuisine,” remarked the senator.

Allies React

The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views ahead of the one-time head of state's anticipated imprisonment.

Penning in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“It is an unfairness that eats away the spirits of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed General Response

It is possibly true given the considerable backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the hearts of numerous individuals who think he deserves to be jailed for planning to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and even scheming to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a representative for the current president's Workers’ party, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to obtain respectful care – but proper treatment in prison. He cannot carry on being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh conditions of inmates, had suddenly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly argued that civil liberties were not for offenders – decided to inspect a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, demeaning handling”.

Possible Incarceration Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently holds about 14,000 detainees, his more likely assigned facility looks to be a nearby jail for officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the spectacular leader's home, about 12 miles away.

As per reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – about the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a television and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his relatives,” the report stated.

Partisan Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his future in the {