Prison Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He battled the legal system and justice prevailed.

Sixty days after receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” the nation's democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.

Anticipated Jailing

The convicted plotter – who has been under house arrest in his estate while a set of judicial steps and appeals proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the next few days, amid increasing talk that he will be moved to a well-known high-security facility.

Previous Comments on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the right-wing ex- soldier exhibited little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those lowlifes a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to end up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Destination Speculation

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, a group of four this week inspected the prison in an seeming bid to prevent the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, claimed he predicted the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut issues – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 election race – meant it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It will be awful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells containing forty prisoners: “That’s virtually one square meter per detainee.

“We conversed to the inmates and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the terrible cuisine,” added the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.

Writing in a leading newspaper, one more backer, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its history”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the souls of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied Public Opinion

That may be true considering the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. Yet his expected incarceration has also warmed the feelings of numerous others who believe he ought to be jailed for planning to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and also conspiring to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the current president's political party, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified care behind bars. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the tough treatment of convicts, had unexpectedly woken up to their privileges. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that civil liberties are not for criminals – decided to tour a jail to find out what situations are actually like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, degrading treatment”.

Potential Incarceration Facilities

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently holds about 14,000 detainees, his probable destination appears to be a close jail for officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the stunning official residence, about a short distance away.

As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – about the area of two parking spaces – and features a 12 sq metre bathroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot veranda. “He could be permitted to have a set and also a cooler in his room as long as they were provided by his family,” sources suggested.

Ideological Responses

The lawmaker criticized the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his future in the {