Jailhouse Shock: The FormerPresident Bolsonaro Faces Life in Prison
He contested the law and justice triumphed.
Sixty days subsequent to being handed a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” the nation's political system, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.
Anticipated Jailing
The convicted instigator – who's been subject to home confinement in his residence while a number of court processes and petitions unfold – is widely expected to be incarcerated in the near future, amidst growing speculation that he will be sent to a infamous high-security facility.
Previous Statements on Convicts
Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the conservative former paratrooper displayed scant compassion for Brazil’s inmates.
“For what reason must we offer these lowlifes a comfortable existence?” he previously wondered. “They should just get messed, end of story. That's my view.”
At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to wind up there, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or theft.”
Prison Facility Speculation
But the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, a group of four this week inspected the prison in an seeming effort to prevent the supreme court from banishing him there.
Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, said he expected the septuagenarian figure to be jailed in the following week and a half and feared his location could be Papuda.
He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious gut issues – the consequence of a almost deadly stabbing during the 2018 presidential presidential campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the former president there. “His condition is very grave. He won’t be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.
When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding four dozen inmates: “It's practically one square metre per detainee.
“We talked to the prisoners and they complain, of course, of the terrible meals,” added the senator.
Allies Speak Out
Lucas is not the only voice speaking out before the ex-leader's expected imprisonment.
Authoring in a leading daily, one more backer, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” end to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to witness “the greatest political injustice in its record”.
“This is an wrong that erodes the hearts of millions Brazilian citizens,” he stated.
Divided General Response
That may be true due to the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. However his anticipated jailing has also gladdened the hearts of many others who feel he ought to be jailed for planning to block his successor from taking power – and also scheming to have him killed.
Reimont Otoni, a representative for the sitting president's Workers’ party, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a hole. Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We wish him to obtain dignified handling – but respectful treatment behind bars. He must not carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”
Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time applauding the harsh conditions of convicts, had abruptly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that human rights are not for criminals – opted to inspect a prison to find out what circumstances are really like,” he said.
“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “degrading, insulting handling”.
Likely Jail Conditions
In spite of speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which now houses about thousands of prisoners, his probable destination seems to be a adjacent prison for officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).
The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro experienced while living in the impressive official residence, around a short distance away.
Based on sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the size of vehicle spaces – and features a 12 sq metre bathroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “He could be permitted to have a set and also a small fridge in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources suggested.
Political Responses
He criticized the speculated plan to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {