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He contested the legal system and the law won.

Two months subsequent to being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who had been subject to house arrest in his estate while a number of judicial steps and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, during increasing speculation that he will be moved to a notorious top-security prison.

Previous Remarks on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long public life, the far-right ex- soldier displayed little mercy for Brazil’s prison population.

“Why should we give those scoundrels a good life?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be messed, period. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to end up in prison, you simply need is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Incarceration Location Discussion

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, several of whom this week visited the complex in an apparent effort to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, said he anticipated the septuagenarian figure to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut problems – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the last election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is very grave. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he commented, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells containing 40 inmates: “That is almost one meter squared per prisoner.

“We spoke to the convicts and they grumble, naturally, of the horrible food,” remarked the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

He is not the lone figure expressing views ahead of the ex-leader's anticipated imprisonment.

Authoring in a prominent daily, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its record”.

“It represents an wrong that gnaws the souls of millions Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Divided General Opinion

This could be correct due to the significant support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. But his predicted incarceration has also pleased the hearts of millions others who feel he ought to be jailed for planning to prevent the elected leader from assuming office – and even conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the sitting administration's political party, said: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain respectful treatment – but proper handling while incarcerated. He cannot persist being his own prison warden for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the severe conditions of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that human rights were not for offenders – chosen to visit a jail to discover what situations are actually like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, insulting handling”.

Likely Jail Conditions

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently contains about 14,000 detainees, his expected location seems to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are much more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the spectacular official residence, around 12 miles away.

Based on information, the room Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 sq metres – about the size of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre balcony. “Bolsonaro would be permitted to have a TV and even a cooler in his room as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” sources suggested.

Political Comments

The lawmaker denounced the talked-about proposal to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {