Jailhouse Surprise: The Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars

He contested the law and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months following being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Expected Jailing

The found-guilty coup-monger – who's been under home confinement in his mansion while a set of legal procedures and challenges proceed – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the coming days, during mounting speculation that he will be transferred to a well-known maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Remarks on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing former military man exhibited minimal sympathy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“Why should we offer those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Speculation

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week toured the facility in an seeming bid to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, claimed he expected the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut problems – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 presidential election race – signified it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells accommodating forty prisoners: “That is virtually one square metre per prisoner.

“We spoke to the inmates and they complain, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Allies React

Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's expected detention.

Writing in a prominent publication, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its record”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the spirits of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Opinion

It is possibly accurate given the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated incarceration has also warmed the hearts of many others who feel he should be imprisoned for plotting to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and also scheming to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a representative for the sitting leader's political party, stated: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to get proper treatment – but respectful handling behind bars. He must not persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long praising the harsh handling of prisoners, had suddenly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently argued that civil liberties are not for offenders – chosen to visit a prison to find out what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, demeaning conduct”.

Likely Jail Facilities

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 inmates, his expected location appears to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “particular” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the stunning official residence, approximately a short distance away.

As per information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre balcony. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a TV and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Political Reactions

The lawmaker condemned the rumoured idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his future in the {