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He fought the law and justice won.

A couple of months following receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now looks jail-bound.

Imminent Incarceration

The convicted plotter – who had been subject to residential detention in his mansion while a series of court processes and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, during increasing speculation that he will be transferred to a well-known top-security prison.

Past Remarks on Convicts

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the right-wing former soldier exhibited little mercy for the country's jailed individuals.

“What’s the need to give these dirtbags a easy time?” he once pondered. “They should just get screwed, period. That’s what I reckon.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Location Debate

However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week toured the prison in an obvious attempt to prevent the judiciary from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, stated he anticipated the 70-year-old figure to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute gut ailments – the outcome of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential election race – meant it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered observing cells accommodating four dozen detainees: “That’s practically one meter squared per detainee.

“We spoke to the inmates and they grumble, unsurprisingly, of the horrible meals,” added the senator.

Allies Speak Out

Lucas is not the sole person speaking out before the one-time head of state's expected detention.

Writing in a major publication, one more backer, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the biggest political injustice in its history”.

“It is an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions Brazilian citizens,” he stated.

Mixed Public Opinion

It is possibly accurate due to the considerable following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his expected incarceration has also pleased the spirits of numerous other people who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and also plotting to have him murdered.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the current leader's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a hole. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in segregation. No one desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to obtain dignified care – but respectful handling behind bars. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have long celebrating the harsh conditions of inmates, had abruptly realized to their rights. “Just now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly claimed that basic rights were not for criminals – chosen to tour a jail to learn what situations are truly like,” he stated.

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

Possible Jail Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which presently holds about thousands of prisoners, his more likely location looks to be a close jail for officers and other “unique” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro had while residing in the stunning official residence, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and includes a 12 sq metre restroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a TV and additionally a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his family,” the report suggested.

Partisan Responses

The lawmaker criticized the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his outcome in the {