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He contested the law and the legal system won.

Two months subsequent to being handed a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The found-guilty instigator – who's been under home confinement in his estate while a number of judicial steps and petitions proceed – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, during increasing rumors that he will be sent to a infamous high-security prison.

Previous Remarks on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing former paratrooper showed scant sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“For what reason must we offer those lowlifes a good life?” he previously wondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, end of story. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to finish there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Discussion

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, a group of four this week toured the complex in an obvious bid to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he expected the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 election race – signified it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the quality of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells containing four dozen detainees: “It's almost one square metre per prisoner.

“We spoke to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

Lucas is not the sole person voicing opinions before the former president’s anticipated imprisonment.

Authoring in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the biggest wrong in its record”.

“This is an wrong that gnaws the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Public Response

This could be correct considering the substantial backing Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. Yet his expected jailing has also pleased the hearts of numerous others who think he should be incarcerated for conspiring to block the incoming president from taking power – and even plotting to have him assassinated.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's political party, stated: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain dignified care – but respectful treatment behind bars. He must not carry on being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the severe handling of convicts, had unexpectedly realized to their rights. “Recently has the far-right – which has repeatedly asserted that basic rights were not for criminals – chosen to tour a penitentiary to learn what conditions are actually like,” he said.

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

Likely Jail Conditions

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about fourteen thousand detainees, his more likely assigned facility seems to be a nearby penitentiary for officers and other “particular” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.

Based on sources, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – roughly the area of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources suggested.

Political Reactions

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {