Prison Shock: Brazil's Ex-President Bolsonaro Faces Time Behind Bars
He battled justice and the legal system prevailed.
Two months following receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for attempting to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro at last seems jail-bound.
Anticipated Imprisonment
The found-guilty instigator – who's been living under residential detention in his residence while a series of legal procedures and appeals proceed – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the near future, amidst growing talk that he will be moved to a notorious maximum security prison.
Past Comments on Prisoners
Over Bolsonaro’s long public life, the conservative ex- military man displayed little sympathy for the country's prison population.
“For what reason must we give these dirtbags a easy time?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be fucked, period. That's my view.”
On another occasion, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Should you not wish to end up in prison, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”
Prison Location Speculation
But the possibility of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, a group of four this week visited the complex in an obvious effort to discourage the supreme court from sending him there.
Senator Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he anticipated the 70-year-old leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.
Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the consequence of a almost deadly assault during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is highly critical. He will not be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It could be dreadful,” he added, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the condition of prison meals.
During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells containing four dozen inmates: “That is almost one square meter per inmate.
“We conversed to the inmates and they protest, of course, of the awful food,” added the senator.
Backers React
The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.
Writing in a major daily, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “severe” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to experience “the biggest unfairness in its record”.
“This is an wrong that gnaws the spirits of many of Brazilians,” he stated.
Mixed Popular Response
It is possibly accurate considering the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. But his expected imprisonment has also pleased the feelings of millions other people who feel he should be imprisoned for plotting to stop the incoming president from assuming office – and even scheming to have him assassinated.
The lawmaker, a representative for the sitting leader's political party, said: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. Nobody desires Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to receive dignified treatment – but respectful handling in prison. He cannot persist being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the severe treatment of prisoners, had unexpectedly realized to their entitlements. “Only now has the far-right – which has always claimed that basic rights were not for criminals – decided to inspect a jail to learn what circumstances are really like,” he stated.
“Bolsonaro is a offender,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.
Likely Prison Conditions
In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 detainees, his more likely destination seems to be a nearby penitentiary for officers and other “particular” detainees called Papudinha (Small Papuda).
The accommodations are considerably more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the spectacular official residence, about a short distance away.
As per sources, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a shower and a 130 square foot balcony. “Bolsonaro would be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” sources suggested.
Political Reactions
He denounced the talked-about idea to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {