🔗 Share this article

He fought the law and justice triumphed.

Two months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Imminent Jailing

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been subject to residential detention in his mansion while a set of court processes and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the near future, during increasing rumors that he will be moved to a well-known maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the conservative ex- paratrooper showed little compassion for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we offer these scoundrels a good life?” he once mused. “They deserve to be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “If you don’t want to finish there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Location Discussion

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week toured the prison in an obvious attempt to prevent the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, claimed he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute digestive issues – the consequence of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “That is almost one meter squared per detainee.

“We conversed to the convicts and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the terrible cuisine,” added the senator.

Backers Speak Out

The senator isn't the sole person expressing views prior to the ex-leader's anticipated incarceration.

Writing in a major newspaper, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the spirits of many people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided Popular Response

This could be correct given the substantial following Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. But his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the spirits of numerous individuals who think he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to block the incoming president from assuming office – and even conspiring to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent president's political party, stated: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to get dignified treatment – but dignified treatment while incarcerated. He cannot continue being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years praising the harsh handling of prisoners, had suddenly become aware to their privileges. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has always claimed that human rights should not be for criminals – chosen to inspect a jail to discover what circumstances are truly like,” he said.

“He is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, demeaning conduct”.

Potential Prison Environment

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 inmates, his probable location appears to be a close penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are much more pleasant than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the stunning leader's home, about 20 kilometers away.

According to information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “He could be permitted to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” information indicated.

Partisan Reactions

He criticized the rumoured proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {