Prison Shock: The Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars

He fought the legal system and the law prevailed.

Sixty days following getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” the nation's political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro at last appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who has been under home confinement in his mansion while a number of judicial steps and appeals unfold – is broadly anticipated to be imprisoned in the near future, amid mounting speculation that he will be moved to a well-known top-security penitentiary.

Historical Statements on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the conservative former soldier showed little compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we provide these scoundrels a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get messed, period. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Jail Destination Speculation

However the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent bid to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the septuagenarian figure to be jailed in the following week and a half and worried his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut issues – the result of a near-fatal assault during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells containing 40 prisoners: “That is almost one meter squared per detainee.

“We talked to the inmates and they protest, naturally, of the awful meals,” added the senator.

Backers React

He is not the only voice expressing views before the ex-leader's predicted detention.

Authoring in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the spirits of many of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Mixed General Reaction

It is possibly true due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. But his anticipated incarceration has also pleased the spirits of many individuals who feel he ought to be incarcerated for conspiring to block the incoming president from assuming office – and also plotting to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the current administration's allied group, stated: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to obtain respectful handling – but proper handling behind bars. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly become aware to their entitlements. “Just now has the far-right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights were not for criminals – decided to inspect a prison to find out what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“The former president is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, insulting handling”.

Potential Incarceration Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently holds about fourteen thousand detainees, his more likely destination appears to be a nearby prison for officers and other “particular” inmates known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are far more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the impressive official residence, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the room Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – about the area of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a television and additionally a minibar in his room as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Ideological Responses

The lawmaker condemned the speculated plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his outcome in the {

John Cole
John Cole

A tech journalist with over a decade of experience covering digital innovations and consumer electronics.

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