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He contested the law and the legal system prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “annihilate” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks jail-bound.

Imminent Jailing

The convicted instigator – who had been living under house arrest in his mansion while a number of court processes and petitions play out – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, amidst increasing talk that he will be moved to a well-known high-security facility.

Historical Statements on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the right-wing former military man showed little mercy for Brazil’s jailed individuals.

“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a good life?” he previously wondered. “They deserve to be screwed, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to finish behind bars, the only thing required is not rape, abduction or rob.”

Prison Destination Debate

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent attempt to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he anticipated the elderly leader to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal knife attack during the last political campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the quality of prison meals.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We talked to the convicts and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the awful food,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the sole person voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.

Penning in a prominent daily, one more backer, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest wrong in its past”.

“It is an unfairness that gnaws the spirits of millions Brazilian citizens,” he stated.

Mixed General Reaction

It is possibly correct due to the significant following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted imprisonment has also warmed the hearts of many others who feel he should be jailed for conspiring to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and even plotting to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the current administration's political party, stated: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain respectful care – but dignified handling behind bars. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years praising the harsh handling of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their privileges. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that human rights are not for lawbreakers – opted to tour a prison to discover what situations are truly like,” he remarked.

“He is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, degrading handling”.

Possible Prison Facilities

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about fourteen thousand inmates, his expected assigned facility looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “special” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the larger jail, although still a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the spectacular official residence, around 12 miles away.

Based on information, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre restroom with a bathing area and a 130 square foot balcony. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his relatives,” the report stated.

Partisan Comments

Senator Lucas criticized the rumoured proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his outcome in the {