Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison
He contested the law and justice won.
Two months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro now looks jail-bound.
Anticipated Imprisonment
The convicted coup-monger – who has been under residential detention in his estate while a series of judicial steps and appeals proceed – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the next few days, amid growing speculation that he will be transferred to a infamous maximum security prison.
Historical Statements on Inmates
Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the right-wing ex- military man exhibited minimal mercy for the country's inmates.
“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to end up behind bars, all you have to do is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”
Incarceration Location Speculation
But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an seeming attempt to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and feared his location could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the result of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the condition of inmate food.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating forty inmates: “That’s almost one square metre per prisoner.
“We conversed to the inmates and they complain, naturally, of the horrible food,” continued the senator.
Supporters Speak Out
The senator isn't the only voice speaking out ahead of the former president’s expected detention.
Authoring in a leading publication, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the largest political injustice in its history”.
“It represents an unfairness that eats away the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Divided Popular Reaction
That may be accurate given the substantial backing Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his predicted jailing has also pleased the spirits of numerous others who think he deserves to be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's political party, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to get dignified handling – but proper care behind bars. He must not carry on being his personal jailer for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long praising the severe handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that human rights were not for lawbreakers – chosen to inspect a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.
“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, insulting handling”.
Likely Jail Environment
Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his probable location appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for police officers and other “particular” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).
Its cells are far more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.
Based on information, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the area of vehicle spaces – and includes a 130 square foot bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot veranda. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a set and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources indicated.
Ideological Responses
He denounced the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his future in the {