Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He battled justice and the law won.
Sixty days after being handed a 27-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last appears jail-bound.
Anticipated Jailing
The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under home confinement in his residence while a series of judicial steps and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the next few days, amid mounting talk that he will be sent to a well-known high-security prison.
Past Remarks on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the conservative former soldier displayed scant compassion for Brazil’s prison population.
“What’s the need to provide these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They deserve to be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, all you have to do is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”
Incarceration Location Speculation
Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week inspected the complex in an obvious effort to prevent the supreme court from transferring him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal problems – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the standard of jail cuisine.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells accommodating four dozen detainees: “That is virtually one meter squared per inmate.
“We conversed to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the horrible meals,” added the senator.
Supporters Voice Concerns
Lucas is not the lone figure expressing views ahead of the former president’s predicted imprisonment.
Penning in a major publication, a different supporter, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to see “the greatest political injustice in its past”.
“This is an injustice that eats away the spirits of many Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Divided Popular Response
This could be true considering the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. But his expected jailing has also warmed the feelings of many others who believe he ought to be incarcerated for plotting to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the sitting leader's allied group, commented: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive proper care – but respectful treatment in prison. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the harsh handling of convicts, had suddenly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that basic rights should not be for offenders – opted to visit a prison to learn what situations are truly like,” he remarked.
“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, degrading handling”.
Possible Prison Environment
Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now contains about 14,000 prisoners, his more likely destination appears to be a nearby prison for officers and other “unique” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro had while residing in the impressive official residence, about a short distance away.
According to reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – approximately the size of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 square meter veranda. “He could be authorized to have a set and also a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his family,” information indicated.
Ideological Comments
He denounced the talked-about plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “a type of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his outcome in the {