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He contested justice and the law won.

Two months after receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Expected Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who's been under residential detention in his mansion while a set of judicial steps and challenges unfold – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, during growing speculation that he will be transferred to a well-known high-security prison.

Historical Remarks on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing ex- soldier exhibited little sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“What’s the need to provide those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Speculation

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, a group of four this week toured the prison in an apparent bid to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was one of the visitors, claimed he predicted the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the next 10 days and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe gut ailments – the result of a life-threatening stabbing during the 2018 presidential political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is very grave. He cannot to manage if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled witnessing cells containing forty inmates: “It's virtually one square metre per prisoner.

“We conversed to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the terrible food,” added the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

He is not the lone figure expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.

Authoring in a prominent newspaper, another ally, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the greatest political injustice in its history”.

“This is an unfairness that erodes the spirits of many people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied General Reaction

It is possibly correct given the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the hearts of many individuals who feel he should be jailed for conspiring to stop his successor from taking power – and additionally conspiring to have him killed.

The lawmaker, a politician for the sitting president's allied group, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. No one desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to receive dignified treatment – but proper handling in prison. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years applauding the harsh handling of inmates, had abruptly realized to their rights. “Only now has the far-right – which has repeatedly claimed that basic rights should not be for offenders – decided to inspect a penitentiary to learn what situations are actually like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, degrading conduct”.

Likely Prison Facilities

In spite of speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now houses about 14,000 inmates, his expected assigned facility appears to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “particular” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the impressive presidential palace, around 12 miles away.

As per reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – roughly the size of vehicle spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot balcony. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his quarters as long as they were provided by his family,” the report suggested.

Partisan Responses

He criticized the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {