🔗 Share this article

He contested justice and the legal system prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to getting a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.

Imminent Incarceration

The found-guilty instigator – who had been living under residential detention in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and appeals proceed – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the next few days, during increasing rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious top-security facility.

Historical Remarks on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the far-right former paratrooper exhibited little mercy for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to give these dirtbags a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to wind up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Destination Debate

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, several of whom this week visited the complex in an apparent attempt to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal problems – the result of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s practically one square meter per inmate.

“We talked to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the horrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Backers React

He is not the sole person voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated imprisonment.

Authoring in a leading publication, another ally, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the greatest unfairness in its record”.

“This is an wrong that erodes the hearts of millions people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Varied Public Reaction

That may be true given the considerable following Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted jailing has also pleased the feelings of many other people who feel he should be incarcerated for planning to block the elected leader from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the current president's allied group, said: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain respectful treatment – but dignified treatment behind bars. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the tough treatment of prisoners, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently claimed that basic rights are not for offenders – decided to inspect a jail to learn what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, degrading treatment”.

Possible Prison Environment

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about thousands of inmates, his more likely destination looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, around 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – roughly the area of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a TV and also a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his family,” information suggested.

Political Responses

He denounced the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his outcome in the {