Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison

He contested justice and the legal system prevailed.

Two months subsequent to being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks destined for incarceration.

Imminent Jailing

The found-guilty instigator – who had been under home confinement in his estate while a series of court processes and challenges proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, amid growing talk that he will be transferred to a well-known top-security penitentiary.

Past Comments on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the conservative former military man showed little mercy for the country's jailed individuals.

“For what reason must we offer those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to end up there, you simply need is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Prison Facility Discussion

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent effort to discourage the high court from transferring him there.

The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, stated he expected the elderly figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe digestive problems – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the last election race – meant it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He cannot to manage if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating 40 inmates: “That is practically one square meter per detainee.

“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the terrible cuisine,” remarked the senator.

Allies React

Lucas is not the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's expected incarceration.

Penning in a prominent publication, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the spirits of many of Brazilians,” he stated.

Mixed Public Reaction

It is possibly true considering the considerable support Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. But his anticipated jailing has also pleased the feelings of millions other people who think he should be jailed for conspiring to stop his successor from becoming president – and also conspiring to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the incumbent administration's allied group, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to get proper care – but respectful care while incarcerated. He must not carry on being his personal jailer for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years praising the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the far-right – which has always asserted that basic rights should not be for criminals – opted to tour a jail to discover what circumstances are truly like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, insulting conduct”.

Potential Incarceration Environment

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about thousands of detainees, his more likely location looks to be a nearby prison for law enforcement and other “unique” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the stunning leader's home, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to information, the room Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “He could be authorized to have a set and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources stated.

Partisan Comments

He denounced the speculated plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his outcome in the {