Prison Surprise: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison
He contested the law and justice triumphed.
Sixty days after being handed a 27-year sentence for seeking to “annihilate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.
Expected Imprisonment
The convicted plotter – who's been subject to house arrest in his estate while a set of court processes and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the coming days, during mounting rumors that he will be transferred to a notorious high-security facility.
Previous Statements on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the right-wing ex- soldier showed minimal compassion for the country's inmates.
“For what reason must we offer those lowlifes a easy time?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, end of story. That’s what I reckon.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish there, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”
Incarceration Facility Discussion
Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, several of whom this week toured the prison in an obvious effort to dissuade the supreme court from sending him there.
Izalci Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he anticipated the septuagenarian figure to be jailed in the next 10 days and feared his destination could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal issues – the outcome of a almost deadly knife attack during the last election race – signified it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells accommodating 40 prisoners: “That’s almost one square meter per prisoner.
“We conversed to the inmates and they grumble, of course, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.
Supporters Voice Concerns
The senator isn't the sole person speaking out prior to the former president’s predicted incarceration.
Penning in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its history”.
“This is an unfairness that eats away the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Varied Public Opinion
That may be true considering the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. But his expected jailing has also warmed the spirits of millions other people who feel he should be incarcerated for plotting to block the incoming president from assuming office – and even scheming to have him killed.
Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the current leader's political party, commented: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to obtain proper treatment – but proper treatment in prison. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the severe treatment of inmates, had suddenly realized to their entitlements. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly asserted that civil liberties should not be for criminals – decided to visit a jail to learn what conditions are really like,” he said.
“The former president is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, degrading treatment”.
Possible Prison Conditions
Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently holds about 14,000 detainees, his probable destination appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for police officers and other “special” prisoners called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while occupying the stunning presidential palace, about a short distance away.
As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – approximately the area of two parking spaces – and features a 12 sq metre WC with a shower and a 12 square meter veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and also a small fridge in his cell as long as they were provided by his loved ones,” information suggested.
Partisan Responses
He condemned the talked-about proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his outcome in the {