Jailhouse Shock: Brazil's FormerPresident Jair Bolsonaro Faces Life Behind Bars
He battled the legal system and justice won.
Sixty days following being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “eradicate” the nation's political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks headed to prison.
Anticipated Imprisonment
The convicted coup-monger – who had been subject to home confinement in his estate while a series of judicial steps and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, amid growing rumors that he will be sent to a notorious high-security facility.
Previous Comments on Convicts
Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the conservative former soldier exhibited scant compassion for Brazil’s prison population.
“Why should we provide these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to wind up there, the only thing required is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”
Incarceration Location Debate
However the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week visited the prison in an seeming attempt to dissuade the judiciary from sending him there.
The senator, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, said he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be jailed in the following week and a half and feared his location could be Papuda.
The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the outcome of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He won’t be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It could be terrible,” he added, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the quality of inmate food.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding four dozen detainees: “It's almost one square metre per inmate.
“We spoke to the prisoners and they protest, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.
Backers Speak Out
He is not the only voice speaking out before the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.
Writing in a leading daily, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the biggest political injustice in its record”.
“It represents an wrong that eats away the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.
Divided General Reaction
That may be accurate due to the substantial support Bolsonaro holds on the Brazilian right. Yet his predicted incarceration has also warmed the hearts of millions individuals who feel he should be incarcerated for plotting to block the elected leader from assuming office – and even scheming to have him assassinated.
Reimont Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's allied group, commented: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. No one wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain proper handling – but respectful care while incarcerated. He must not continue being his own prison warden for his entire life.”
He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have long praising the severe handling of inmates, had abruptly realized to their rights. “Recently has the conservative fringe – which has consistently argued that basic rights were not for offenders – chosen to inspect a jail to find out what situations are actually like,” he said.
“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, demeaning conduct”.
Possible Prison Environment
In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about fourteen thousand detainees, his probable location appears to be a nearby jail for police officers and other “particular” inmates known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).
His potential cell are far more adequate than those in the main prison, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the stunning official residence, about 12 miles away.
Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha has about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 square meter bathroom with a shower and a 130 square foot balcony. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a TV and also a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information suggested.
Partisan Reactions
The lawmaker denounced the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his outcome in the {