🔗 Share this article

He battled justice and the law prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to being handed a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The convicted instigator – who's been living under home confinement in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, during growing rumors that he will be transferred to a well-known maximum security prison.

Historical Remarks on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former military man displayed minimal compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They deserve to be fucked, end of story. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to end up behind bars, the only thing required is not sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Debate

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, a group of four this week inspected the facility in an apparent attempt to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, said he expected the septuagenarian figure to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the last political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the standard of prison meals.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “It's practically one square metre per detainee.

“We spoke to the convicts and they grumble, of course, of the horrible food,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the only voice expressing views ahead of the ex-leader's expected imprisonment.

Authoring in a leading daily, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its history”.

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

Varied General Opinion

This could be accurate due to the considerable following Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also warmed the spirits of numerous individuals who think he ought to be jailed for conspiring to stop his successor from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to obtain dignified treatment – but proper handling behind bars. He can’t continue being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the severe conditions of inmates, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has always asserted that human rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to tour a prison to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, demeaning handling”.

Possible Jail Conditions

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently holds about 14,000 inmates, his probable location looks to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the impressive presidential palace, approximately 20 kilometers away.

Based on sources, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 square meter veranda. “He could be authorized to have a set and also a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his family,” the report suggested.

Ideological Comments

The lawmaker denounced the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his fate in the {