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He contested the legal system and the legal system triumphed.

A couple of months following getting a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now looks destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under residential detention in his estate while a set of court processes and petitions play out – is largely predicted to be incarcerated in the next few days, amid growing speculation that he will be transferred to a infamous maximum security penitentiary.

Previous Remarks on Convicts

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former soldier showed little mercy for the country's prison population.

“Why should we provide those lowlifes a easy time?” he once mused. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to end up there, you simply need is to avoid rape, kidnap or theft.”

Incarceration Destination Debate

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked backers, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an seeming effort to prevent the supreme court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the elderly leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s acute gut issues – the outcome of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 election race – implied it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he commented, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of jail cuisine.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted observing cells holding 40 inmates: “That is virtually one square meter per prisoner.

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

Supporters Speak Out

Lucas is not the sole person speaking out prior to the former president’s predicted imprisonment.

Writing in a prominent daily, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and alleged Brazil was about to see “the largest wrong in its history”.

“This is an unfairness that erodes the spirits of countless of Brazilians,” he stated.

Mixed Public Response

It is possibly correct given the significant support Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his anticipated incarceration has also warmed the hearts of many other people who think he ought to be imprisoned for conspiring to block his successor from assuming office – and even plotting to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's allied group, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to get dignified treatment – but respectful treatment in prison. He cannot continue being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have spent years celebrating the tough conditions of inmates, had suddenly realized to their privileges. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has always asserted that human rights are not for criminals – decided to tour a prison to find out what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“He is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, demeaning conduct”.

Potential Jail Facilities

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently houses about 14,000 prisoners, his probable assigned facility appears to be a adjacent jail for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the impressive official residence, about 12 miles away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and features a 12 sq metre WC with a shower and a 12 sq metre terrace. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a television and even a cooler in his cell as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” information indicated.

Ideological Reactions

He criticized the rumoured idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {