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He battled the law and justice prevailed.

A couple of months subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now appears jail-bound.

Expected Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who had been living under home confinement in his estate while a series of judicial steps and petitions play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, amidst increasing speculation that he will be moved to a infamous high-security prison.

Past Statements on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- paratrooper exhibited little compassion for the country's inmates.

“For what reason must we offer these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to end up in prison, the only thing required is not rape, abduction or theft.”

Incarceration Facility Debate

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, four of whom this week visited the prison in an apparent attempt to discourage the judiciary from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the consequence of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He won’t be able to manage if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he commented, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the standard of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing 40 inmates: “That’s virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the horrible food,” remarked the senator.

Backers React

The senator isn't the only voice speaking out prior to the one-time head of state's predicted imprisonment.

Writing in a major publication, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its history”.

“This is an injustice that erodes the spirits of many people in Brazil,” he stated.

Divided Popular Reaction

That may be accurate given the substantial following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his predicted incarceration has also warmed the feelings of millions others who think he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to prevent the elected leader from becoming president – and even plotting to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the sitting administration's political party, commented: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to receive respectful treatment – but proper care while incarcerated. He cannot continue being his personal jailer for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have long praising the severe conditions of prisoners, had unexpectedly woken up to their rights. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always claimed that civil liberties were not for offenders – decided to inspect a prison to discover what conditions are really like,” he said.

“The former president is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Possible Jail Conditions

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently contains about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable assigned facility seems to be a nearby prison for law enforcement and other “unique” prisoners known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the impressive presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

Based on reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre balcony. “The ex-president might be permitted to have a TV and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” sources indicated.

Ideological Reactions

He condemned the rumoured plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his fate in the {