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He contested the law and justice triumphed.

Two months after receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems jail-bound.

Imminent Imprisonment

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under home confinement in his mansion while a number of legal procedures and challenges play out – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, amid growing speculation that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security facility.

Previous Comments on Prisoners

Over Bolsonaro’s long public life, the right-wing former soldier showed scant compassion for the country's inmates.

“Why should we offer those dirtbags a good life?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Destination Debate

But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week visited the facility in an apparent attempt to discourage the supreme court from transferring him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he expected the 70-year-old leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the result of a almost deadly stabbing during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to manage if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about packed cells and the quality of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells accommodating forty prisoners: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the awful food,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

He is not the lone figure voicing opinions ahead of the former president’s expected incarceration.

Penning in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to see “the biggest wrong in its history”.

“It represents an unfairness that eats away the hearts of millions people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Mixed Public Response

That may be correct due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. But his predicted jailing has also gladdened the hearts of millions other people who feel he should be imprisoned for conspiring to prevent the elected leader from assuming office – and also plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the sitting administration's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified treatment behind bars. He can’t carry on being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the tough conditions of convicts, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the far-right – which has consistently argued that civil liberties were not for criminals – chosen to visit a penitentiary to find out what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, insulting handling”.

Potential Incarceration Facilities

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 detainees, his probable destination seems to be a close penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” detainees called Papudinha (Small Papuda).

His potential cell are much more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while living in the stunning presidential palace, around 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – about the area of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were supplied by his loved ones,” information suggested.

Political Responses

The lawmaker criticized the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {