🔗 Share this article

He battled the law and the legal system triumphed.

Two months following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “annihilate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who's been under house arrest in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and petitions proceed – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, amidst mounting talk that he will be moved to a infamous top-security prison.

Historical Comments on Inmates

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

“For what reason must we offer these dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They deserve to be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to wind up there, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Jail Location Debate

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, a group of four this week visited the complex in an apparent effort to prevent the supreme court from transferring him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, stated he anticipated the elderly leader to be jailed in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 political campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He won’t be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen detainees: “It's almost one meter squared per prisoner.

“We conversed to the convicts and they complain, of course, of the terrible meals,” continued the senator.

Backers React

Lucas is not the lone figure speaking out prior to the former president’s predicted detention.

Penning in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“It represents an unfairness that erodes the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Varied General Reaction

That may be correct due to the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. However his predicted incarceration has also gladdened the feelings of many others who think he deserves to be incarcerated for plotting to stop the elected leader from becoming president – and also conspiring to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting administration's allied group, stated: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to obtain dignified treatment – but proper care behind bars. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time applauding the tough treatment of convicts, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that civil liberties were not for lawbreakers – decided to inspect a jail to learn what conditions are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, degrading conduct”.

Possible Jail Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about thousands of detainees, his probable assigned facility appears to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “special” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular leader's home, approximately 20 kilometers away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the size of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a set and also a small fridge in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources stated.

Ideological Responses

He criticized the rumoured plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {