Prison Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison

He fought the legal system and justice prevailed.

Sixty days after being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro at last appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The convicted coup-monger – who's been living under residential detention in his residence while a number of court processes and challenges unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, amidst growing rumors that he will be moved to a notorious maximum security prison.

Previous Statements on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the conservative ex- soldier exhibited little compassion for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“Why should we provide these dirtbags a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be screwed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to wind up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or rob.”

Prison Facility Debate

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, four of whom this week visited the prison in an apparent bid to prevent the high court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he predicted the elderly figure to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive problems – the outcome of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He won’t be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the quality of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating 40 inmates: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

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

Allies React

The senator isn't the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest unfairness in its record”.

“It is an injustice that erodes the souls of millions of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Varied Popular Reaction

It is possibly correct given the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his anticipated imprisonment has also gladdened the hearts of numerous individuals who think he ought to be incarcerated for planning to prevent the elected leader from assuming office – and even conspiring to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the incumbent president's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to receive proper handling – but proper handling behind bars. He must not persist being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time applauding the harsh treatment of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently claimed that civil liberties are not for lawbreakers – chosen to visit a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are truly like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, demeaning handling”.

Likely Jail Environment

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 detainees, his expected assigned facility looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are far more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the spectacular official residence, around 12 miles away.

According to reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 square meter bathroom with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources stated.

Political Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {