Jailhouse Surprise: The FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Confronts Life in Prison
He fought justice and the law prevailed.
Sixty days after being handed a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.
Anticipated Incarceration
The convicted plotter – who's been under residential detention in his residence while a set of court processes and challenges unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the next few days, during mounting talk that he will be sent to a infamous high-security facility.
Previous Remarks on Convicts
During Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the right-wing former soldier displayed scant sympathy for the country's inmates.
“What’s the need to provide those dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be screwed, period. That's my view.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to end up in prison, all you have to do is to avoid rape, abduction or theft.”
Prison Destination Discussion
But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, several of whom this week visited the prison in an apparent attempt to prevent the high court from transferring him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, stated he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute gut issues – the result of a almost deadly assault during the 2018 political campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is highly critical. He cannot to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” he added, who also expressed concern about packed cells and the standard of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells holding 40 inmates: “That is virtually one meter squared per inmate.
“We conversed to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the horrible food,” added the senator.
Allies React
He is not the lone figure speaking out prior to the one-time head of state's expected incarceration.
Penning in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest unfairness in its past”.
“It represents an unfairness that gnaws the hearts of many people in Brazil,” he stated.
Varied Popular Opinion
It is possibly true considering the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. But his expected imprisonment has also pleased the spirits of numerous others who think he ought to be incarcerated for planning to stop the elected leader from taking power – and even scheming to have him murdered.
Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's Workers’ party, stated: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to get proper care – but proper care in prison. He must not persist being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”
The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years applauding the tough handling of prisoners, had unexpectedly become aware to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has consistently asserted that basic rights should not be for offenders – decided to tour a prison to learn what circumstances are really like,” he stated.
“He is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, insulting treatment”.
Likely Jail Conditions
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now holds about fourteen thousand detainees, his more likely destination looks to be a adjacent penitentiary for police officers and other “special” prisoners referred to as Papudinha (Small Papuda).
The accommodations are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the spectacular leader's home, around 12 miles away.
According to sources, the room Bolsonaro could expect to occupy in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and features a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 12 square meter terrace. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a television and additionally a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his family,” the report indicated.
Partisan Comments
He condemned the rumoured idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will determine his future in the {