Prison Surprise: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars

He contested the law and justice prevailed.

Two months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems destined for incarceration.

Expected Jailing

The found-guilty instigator – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of judicial steps and petitions play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, amidst growing rumors that he will be transferred to a infamous high-security facility.

Past Comments on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the conservative former paratrooper showed scant sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to provide these lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to wind up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Discussion

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, a group of four this week visited the complex in an apparent bid to prevent the judiciary from banishing him there.

The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he expected the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the result of a near-fatal knife attack during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they send him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about packed cells and the standard of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding four dozen detainees: “It's virtually one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the convicts and they grumble, naturally, of the awful cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers React

Lucas is not the only voice expressing views ahead of the former president’s anticipated incarceration.

Authoring in a major newspaper, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its past”.

“It represents an unfairness that eats away the souls of millions people in Brazil,” he stated.

Varied General Response

It is possibly correct considering the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the right-wing. But his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the feelings of many other people who feel he deserves to be jailed for conspiring to block the elected leader from taking power – and even plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent president's Workers’ party, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to get proper care – but respectful handling in prison. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the tough conditions of convicts, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has always asserted that human rights should not be for criminals – opted to visit a jail to learn what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, degrading treatment”.

Potential Jail Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of detainees, his expected location seems to be a nearby jail for officers and other “particular” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are far more comfortable than those in the main prison, although still a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro had while residing in the spectacular leader's home, around 12 miles away.

As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter balcony. “He could be allowed to have a television and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources indicated.

Partisan Comments

Senator Lucas denounced the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his future in the {

Ryan Cummings
Ryan Cummings

A seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that shape Las Vegas, bringing over a decade of experience in local news reporting.