Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars

He contested the law and the law prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The found-guilty instigator – who's been living under home confinement in his mansion while a set of judicial steps and appeals proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, during mounting rumors that he will be moved to a infamous maximum security prison.

Previous Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- paratrooper showed little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those dirtbags a good life?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, period. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to end up in prison, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Prison Destination Speculation

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week toured the prison in an obvious attempt to dissuade the supreme court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and worried his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the consequence of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is very grave. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells holding forty detainees: “It's almost one square metre per prisoner.

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

Supporters Speak Out

He is not the only voice expressing views ahead of the former president’s predicted incarceration.

Authoring in a major daily, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its record”.

“This is an wrong that erodes the souls of countless of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied Public Opinion

This could be accurate considering the significant following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. But his expected incarceration has also warmed the spirits of many others who believe he should be imprisoned for conspiring to prevent the elected leader from assuming office – and also scheming to have him murdered.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting leader's allied group, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain proper treatment – but respectful treatment in prison. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the severe conditions of convicts, had abruptly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has always argued that human rights were not for criminals – opted to visit a jail to discover what situations are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning conduct”.

Possible Jail Conditions

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently holds about thousands of detainees, his probable destination seems to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “special” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are far more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the stunning presidential palace, about 12 miles away.

As per information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the size of two parking spaces – and features a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” sources indicated.

Partisan Reactions

The lawmaker condemned the talked-about plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his outcome in the {