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He battled justice and the legal system triumphed.

Two months following receiving a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro at last looks jail-bound.

Anticipated Jailing

The convicted plotter – who had been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a number of legal procedures and challenges proceed – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, amid growing rumors that he will be transferred to a infamous high-security prison.

Past Comments on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the conservative former paratrooper displayed minimal compassion for Brazil’s inmates.

“Why should we offer those dirtbags a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be messed, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish behind bars, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Prison Location Debate

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified backers, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an apparent bid to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, claimed he predicted the 70-year-old leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and worried his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It would be awful,” said the senator, who also worried about overcrowded cells and the condition of inmate food.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s virtually one square metre per detainee.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the horrible cuisine,” added the senator.

Supporters React

He is not the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the ex-leader's anticipated detention.

Penning in a prominent newspaper, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to witness “the greatest wrong in its history”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the souls of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Popular Response

That may be true given the substantial backing Bolsonaro holds on the conservative side. However his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of numerous others who believe he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to prevent the elected leader from taking power – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the current administration's political party, stated: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We desire him to get proper treatment – but respectful care while incarcerated. He can’t continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time praising the harsh conditions of inmates, had unexpectedly woken up to their rights. “Only now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that civil liberties should not be for criminals – opted to tour a jail to discover what conditions are truly like,” he stated.

“The former president is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he merited “degrading, insulting handling”.

Likely Incarceration Environment

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently houses about fourteen thousand prisoners, his probable destination looks to be a nearby prison for law enforcement and other “particular” inmates called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are far more comfortable than those in the main prison, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro had while occupying the stunning official residence, about a short distance away.

According to information, the accommodation Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of two parking spaces – and contains a 12 sq metre restroom with a bathing area and a 12 square meter veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his family,” information stated.

Political Reactions

He condemned the speculated proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will determine his outcome in the {