Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Jair Bolsonaro Faces Time in Prison
He fought the law and the legal system won.
Sixty days following being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s democracy, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.
Imminent Incarceration
The found-guilty coup-monger – who has been under home confinement in his residence while a set of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, amidst mounting rumors that he will be moved to a infamous high-security penitentiary.
Historical Remarks on Prisoners
Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing ex- paratrooper displayed scant sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.
“Why should we give these dirtbags a good life?” he previously wondered. “They should just get fucked, period. That's my view.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to finish in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”
Incarceration Location Debate
Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, several of whom this week visited the facility in an seeming effort to prevent the high court from transferring him there.
The senator, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, said he expected the elderly leader to be jailed in the next 10 days and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe digestive issues – the result of a almost deadly knife attack during the last presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” he commented, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “That’s virtually one meter squared per prisoner.
“We spoke to the inmates and they protest, naturally, of the horrible meals,” continued the senator.
Backers React
Lucas is not the only voice speaking out before the former president’s expected detention.
Writing in a prominent daily, one more backer, the ex- government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and asserted Brazil was about to see “the greatest political injustice in its record”.
“This is an unfairness that gnaws the spirits of many people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.
Varied Public Opinion
This could be accurate due to the considerable following Bolsonaro maintains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of numerous individuals who believe he ought to be jailed for conspiring to block the elected leader from taking power – and even conspiring to have him assassinated.
The lawmaker, a politician for the incumbent president's allied group, stated: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to get dignified care – but respectful treatment in prison. He cannot continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”
He observed how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long praising the harsh treatment of convicts, had abruptly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always asserted that human rights should not be for offenders – chosen to tour a penitentiary to discover what circumstances are actually like,” he remarked.
“He is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, insulting treatment”.
Possible Jail Environment
Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently holds about fourteen thousand detainees, his probable destination seems to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “unique” prisoners called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
The accommodations are considerably more comfortable than those in the main prison, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the impressive presidential palace, about a short distance away.
Based on reports, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and features a 130 square foot bathroom with a shower and a 12 square meter veranda. “He could be allowed to have a TV and additionally a small fridge in his cell as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” sources suggested.
Partisan Reactions
The lawmaker condemned the speculated plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his fate in the {