🔗 Share this article Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Confronts Time in Prison He battled the legal system and the law won. Sixty days following receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound. Imminent Jailing The convicted coup-monger – who has been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a set of court processes and petitions unfold – is largely predicted to be jailed in the coming days, during growing talk that he will be moved to a well-known top-security facility. Historical Remarks on Prisoners Over Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing ex- military man exhibited scant mercy for Brazil’s prison population. “For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a good life?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.” At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish there, you simply need is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.” Incarceration Location Speculation Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, several of whom this week visited the prison in an apparent attempt to discourage the high court from banishing him there. Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his destination could be Papuda. He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential political campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His health is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals. During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells accommodating four dozen inmates: “That’s almost one meter squared per detainee. “We spoke to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the horrible meals,” remarked the senator. Allies Voice Concerns Lucas is not the lone figure voicing opinions before the ex-leader's expected detention. Penning in a major publication, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the largest unfairness in its history”. “It is an unfairness that eats away the spirits of millions people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote. Mixed Public Reaction This could be accurate considering the considerable backing Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted incarceration has also pleased the hearts of millions others who feel he ought to be imprisoned for planning to block the elected leader from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him killed. Congressman Otoni, a politician for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, stated: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified handling in prison. He can’t carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.” Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time applauding the harsh treatment of inmates, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly asserted that basic rights are not for criminals – chosen to tour a prison to find out what situations are truly like,” he stated. “Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, demeaning treatment”. Potential Incarceration Conditions Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable destination seems to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Little Papuda). Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the spectacular leader's home, approximately a short distance away. As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the size of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre bathroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “He could be allowed to have a set and also a cooler in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information suggested. Political Comments Senator Lucas criticized the rumoured idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his outcome in the {