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He contested justice and the law triumphed.

Sixty days after receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems jail-bound.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The convicted instigator – who had been under home confinement in his estate while a set of court processes and appeals unfold – is broadly anticipated to be incarcerated in the near future, amidst mounting talk that he will be transferred to a notorious high-security penitentiary.

Past Remarks on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the conservative ex- soldier exhibited little compassion for the country's jailed individuals.

“What’s the need to provide those lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”

Jail Facility Discussion

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent attempt to dissuade the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the septuagenarian leader to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It would be dreadful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “It's virtually one square meter per prisoner.

“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

Lucas is not the only voice voicing opinions before the ex-leader's predicted incarceration.

Writing in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to experience “the greatest unfairness in its past”.

“It is an injustice that erodes the hearts of millions Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Mixed General Reaction

This could be correct due to the considerable backing Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. However his predicted incarceration has also warmed the spirits of numerous individuals who think he ought to be incarcerated for plotting to block the elected leader from becoming president – and additionally plotting to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the sitting president's allied group, commented: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to obtain proper care – but dignified care while incarcerated. He can’t persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long praising the tough treatment of convicts, had unexpectedly become aware to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has always asserted that basic rights should not be for criminals – chosen to inspect a jail to discover what conditions are truly like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting handling”.

Potential Incarceration Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about 14,000 inmates, his more likely assigned facility looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for police officers and other “special” inmates referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

Based on sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the size of two parking spaces – and contains a 130 square foot restroom with a water facility and a 12 sq metre balcony. “He could be permitted to have a TV and additionally a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources indicated.

Political Reactions

The lawmaker condemned the rumoured idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {