Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He fought justice and justice triumphed.
Sixty days after getting a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks headed to prison.
Imminent Imprisonment
The found-guilty coup-monger – who's been subject to home confinement in his residence while a number of court processes and challenges proceed – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the coming days, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a well-known top-security facility.
Past Comments on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the far-right ex- military man displayed scant sympathy for the country's prison population.
“For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be messed, period. That's my view.”
In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to end up there, all you have to do is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”
Prison Facility Speculation
But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, several of whom this week toured the complex in an obvious effort to prevent the high court from banishing him there.
Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, said he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be imprisoned in the coming fortnight and worried his location could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s serious digestive problems – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He cannot to handle it if they move him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells containing 40 prisoners: “It's almost one square meter per detainee.
“We talked to the prisoners and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” added the senator.
Allies React
He is not the only voice voicing opinions before the one-time head of state's predicted incarceration.
Penning in a major publication, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the greatest unfairness in its record”.
“This is an injustice that erodes the hearts of many Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.
Divided Public Response
That may be correct given the significant backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. However his expected incarceration has also pleased the feelings of many individuals who feel he should be imprisoned for conspiring to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and also conspiring to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the current administration's Workers’ party, said: “Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We wish him to obtain proper treatment – but respectful handling while incarcerated. He can’t persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years praising the severe handling of prisoners, had suddenly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the far-right – which has always argued that basic rights should not be for offenders – chosen to visit a jail to find out what situations are actually like,” he remarked.
“He is a lawbreaker,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting handling”.
Likely Prison Facilities
In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently houses about 14,000 inmates, his expected location seems to be a close prison for law enforcement and other “unique” detainees called Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
His potential cell are far more comfortable than those in the larger jail, although still a distant from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while occupying the impressive official residence, approximately 12 miles away.
As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – about the size of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre WC with a water facility and a 130 square foot veranda. “He could be authorized to have a set and even a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources indicated.
Political Responses
Senator Lucas condemned the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {