Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars
He contested the law and justice triumphed.
Two months following receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.
Anticipated Jailing
The found-guilty plotter – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of court processes and appeals play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the coming days, amidst growing speculation that he will be transferred to a well-known top-security prison.
Historical Comments on Inmates
During Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former paratrooper displayed little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.
“What’s the need to give those lowlifes a easy time?” he once pondered. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to finish behind bars, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”
Incarceration Location Speculation
However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, a group of four this week inspected the complex in an seeming effort to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.
Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, said 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 serious digestive issues – the result of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 presidential political campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells holding four dozen detainees: “That’s practically one meter squared per inmate.
“We talked to the convicts and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the horrible meals,” continued the senator.
Allies React
The senator isn't the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the ex-leader's predicted imprisonment.
Authoring in a leading daily, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the greatest political injustice in its history”.
“This is an wrong that erodes the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Varied Public Response
This could be accurate due to the substantial following Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his anticipated jailing has also warmed the hearts of many other people who feel he ought to be incarcerated for plotting to block the incoming president from taking power – and even scheming to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a politician for the sitting president's Workers’ party, stated: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to get dignified treatment – but proper handling while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the harsh conditions of prisoners, had unexpectedly become aware to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly argued that basic rights are not for offenders – decided to tour a jail to discover what conditions are truly like,” he said.
“The former president is a criminal,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, degrading conduct”.
Likely Prison Facilities
Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 inmates, his probable destination appears to be a close jail for law enforcement and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).
The accommodations are considerably more adequate than those in the main prison, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the stunning presidential palace, approximately 12 miles away.
As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the area of vehicle spaces – and includes a 130 square foot bathroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre balcony. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a television and additionally a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his family,” sources stated.
Political Comments
Senator Lucas condemned the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {