Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Time Behind Bars
He contested the legal system and justice triumphed.
Sixty days after being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears jail-bound.
Anticipated Imprisonment
The convicted plotter – who's been under residential detention in his residence while a series of court processes and petitions unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, during mounting speculation that he will be sent to a notorious high-security prison.
Previous Statements on Prisoners
Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- soldier showed minimal sympathy for the country's jailed individuals.
“Why should we give these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to wind up in prison, you simply need is not sexual assault, abduction or theft.”
Jail Location Speculation
However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week visited the facility in an apparent effort to dissuade the supreme court from sending him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal issues – the result of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of jail cuisine.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “That is almost one square meter per inmate.
“We spoke to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the horrible food,” continued the senator.
Supporters Speak Out
Lucas is not the lone figure expressing views before the ex-leader's predicted incarceration.
Writing in a leading daily, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its record”.
“It represents an injustice that gnaws the hearts of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.
Divided General Response
That may be correct given the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated imprisonment has also warmed the feelings of many other people who feel he ought to be imprisoned for planning to prevent his successor from taking power – and even scheming to have him murdered.
Congressman Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's Workers’ party, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to receive proper care – but dignified care behind bars. He can’t carry on being his own prison warden for his whole life.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years celebrating the tough conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly become aware to their rights. “Just now has the extreme right – which has always claimed that basic rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to visit a prison to learn what circumstances are truly like,” he stated.
“He is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, degrading conduct”.
Possible Prison Conditions
Despite rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently holds about thousands of detainees, his more likely assigned facility appears to be a close prison for officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
Its cells are considerably more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nevertheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.
As per information, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre terrace. “He could be allowed to have a television and even a minibar in his room as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” the report suggested.
Ideological Responses
Senator Lucas condemned the rumoured plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his outcome in the {