Jailhouse Surprise: Brazil's FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison
He contested the law and the legal system prevailed.
Two months subsequent to getting a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now looks destined for incarceration.
Imminent Jailing
The adjudicated plotter – who has been under house arrest in his residence while a set of legal procedures and petitions proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, amid mounting talk that he will be transferred to a notorious maximum security penitentiary.
Historical Statements on Convicts
During Bolsonaro’s long political career, the far-right former military man showed little mercy for the country's inmates.
“What’s the need to give these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be screwed, end of story. That's my view.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to finish in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”
Jail Location Discussion
But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, four of whom this week toured the facility in an seeming attempt to discourage the supreme court from banishing him there.
The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was among that group, claimed he predicted the elderly politician to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his assigned prison could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the outcome of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential political campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.
While visiting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells accommodating four dozen detainees: “That’s practically one square meter per prisoner.
“We conversed to the prisoners and they complain, of course, of the horrible food,” added the senator.
Supporters Speak Out
Lucas is not the sole person voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.
Authoring in a leading publication, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its past”.
“This is an wrong that gnaws the souls of many Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Varied Public Response
That may be correct due to the substantial support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted incarceration has also gladdened the spirits of numerous individuals who think he deserves to be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from assuming office – and even scheming to have him assassinated.
Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting president's political party, commented: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to receive respectful care – but dignified care in prison. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time praising the severe treatment of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their privileges. “Only now has the far-right – which has always argued that human rights should not be for criminals – decided to visit a jail to discover what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.
“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, demeaning treatment”.
Likely Prison Facilities
Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which now holds about fourteen thousand prisoners, his probable location looks to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “particular” inmates known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
The accommodations are far more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the luxury Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular leader's home, approximately a short distance away.
As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – roughly the size of vehicle spaces – and features a 130 square foot restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a set and even a minibar in his cell as long as they were donated by his relatives,” sources suggested.
Political Comments
He condemned the rumoured proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his outcome in the {