🔗 Share this article

He fought the law and justice prevailed.

A couple of months after being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears jail-bound.

Imminent Jailing

The adjudicated coup-monger – who has been under residential detention in his mansion while a number of court processes and challenges proceed – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid increasing talk that he will be transferred to a notorious top-security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the conservative former paratrooper exhibited little sympathy for the country's inmates.

“Why should we give those scoundrels a easy time?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be fucked, period. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Jail Facility Debate

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, several of whom this week toured the prison in an seeming bid to discourage the supreme court from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, said he anticipated the septuagenarian politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal issues – the consequence of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It will be awful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s virtually one square metre per detainee.

“We conversed to the convicts and they protest, of course, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers React

Lucas is not the lone figure voicing opinions ahead of the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.

Authoring in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its history”.

“This is an unfairness that gnaws the hearts of many of Brazilians,” he stated.

Mixed Popular Response

It is possibly true given the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. But his expected imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of numerous others who think he deserves to be jailed for conspiring to block the elected leader from becoming president – and even conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting leader's Workers’ party, commented: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to receive dignified handling – but dignified care in prison. He can’t continue being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years praising the tough handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly woken up to their rights. “Recently has the extreme right – which has always argued that civil liberties are not for offenders – decided to inspect a prison to find out what circumstances are truly like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Possible Prison Environment

Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now houses about 14,000 inmates, his probable destination looks to be a close prison for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

His potential cell are far more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while living in the impressive leader's home, around 20 kilometers away.

As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of two parking spaces – and features a 12 square meter bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter balcony. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and even a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his family,” information indicated.

Political Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his fate in the {