Jailhouse Shock: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He fought the legal system and the law prevailed.

Sixty days subsequent to receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems destined for incarceration.

Anticipated Incarceration

The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been under house arrest in his residence while a series of judicial steps and challenges play out – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the next few days, amid increasing rumors that he will be moved to a infamous high-security penitentiary.

Historical Remarks on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s long political career, the far-right former soldier exhibited little sympathy for the country's jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a good life?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be screwed, period. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is not rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Location Debate

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week toured the facility in an obvious bid to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the result of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He won’t be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about packed cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding four dozen detainees: “It's almost one square metre per inmate.

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

Supporters React

The senator isn't the sole person speaking out before the one-time head of state's anticipated imprisonment.

Writing in a prominent newspaper, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to see “the greatest political injustice in its record”.

“This is an unfairness that gnaws the souls of countless of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied General Opinion

This could be accurate due to the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. However his predicted jailing has also warmed the spirits of millions others who think he ought to be incarcerated for planning to prevent his successor from taking power – and even conspiring to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent president's political party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to obtain respectful treatment – but dignified care in prison. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time praising the tough handling of prisoners, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that human rights are not for criminals – opted to inspect a jail to find out what situations are truly like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “humiliating, degrading conduct”.

Possible Prison Conditions

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about thousands of inmates, his probable location appears to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “particular” prisoners known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro had while living in the impressive leader's home, about 20 kilometers away.

As per information, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – about the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a television and also a cooler in his quarters as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources stated.

Political Comments

He criticized the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {