🔗 Share this article

He fought the law and the law won.

Sixty days following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “annihilate” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Jailing

The found-guilty plotter – who had been under residential detention in his residence while a number of legal procedures and appeals play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the next few days, amidst increasing speculation that he will be transferred to a infamous high-security facility.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the conservative ex- paratrooper showed little sympathy for the country's inmates.

“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Debate

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week visited the complex in an obvious effort to dissuade the judiciary from banishing him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, said he predicted the 70-year-old figure to be jailed in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is very grave. He won’t be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells containing 40 prisoners: “That’s practically one square metre per prisoner.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, of course, of the awful meals,” remarked the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the lone figure voicing opinions ahead of the ex-leader's anticipated detention.

Penning in a major newspaper, another ally, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the biggest unfairness in its history”.

“It is an injustice that erodes the spirits of countless of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Mixed Public Response

It is possibly accurate given the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also warmed the spirits of numerous other people who think he deserves to be jailed for planning to block his successor from becoming president – and even conspiring to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the sitting leader's allied group, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain dignified handling – but dignified treatment behind bars. He must not continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time applauding the harsh handling of prisoners, had suddenly woken up to their rights. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always argued that civil liberties should not be for offenders – opted to visit a jail to find out what situations are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, insulting treatment”.

Likely Jail Conditions

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently contains about thousands of inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a close jail for police officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are far more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, approximately 12 miles away.

As per information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – about the size of vehicle spaces – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and also a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” information indicated.

Partisan Reactions

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {