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He fought the legal system and justice won.

Sixty days subsequent to receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “annihilate” Brazil’s democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears headed to prison.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been living under residential detention in his residence while a series of judicial steps and challenges unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the near future, amid mounting speculation that he will be moved to a notorious high-security facility.

Previous Remarks on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the far-right former soldier showed minimal compassion for Brazil’s inmates.

“What’s the need to offer these scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be fucked, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to finish there, the only thing required is not rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Destination Debate

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, a group of four this week toured the complex in an seeming effort to prevent the supreme court from sending him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was part of that quartet, claimed he anticipated the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and worried his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal problems – the outcome of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – implied it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is very grave. He won’t be able to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the quality of prison meals.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding forty detainees: “That’s virtually one square metre per detainee.

“We spoke to the convicts and they complain, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice voicing opinions ahead of the former president’s expected detention.

Writing in a prominent publication, one more backer, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” political career and asserted Brazil was about to see “the largest unfairness in its past”.

“This is an wrong that gnaws the hearts of countless of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied Public Response

It is possibly true considering the substantial following Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. But his expected incarceration has also warmed the hearts of numerous other people who believe he should be jailed for plotting to block his successor from becoming president – and even plotting to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a politician for the sitting leader's political party, commented: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. No one wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in isolation. No one wishes Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to get dignified treatment – but respectful care in prison. He can’t carry on being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the harsh handling of convicts, had suddenly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the extreme right – which has consistently argued that civil liberties should not be for lawbreakers – chosen to tour a prison to find out what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“The former president is a lawbreaker,” the congressman maintained, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, insulting conduct”.

Potential Jail Conditions

Regardless of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently holds about fourteen thousand detainees, his probable location appears to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “special” inmates called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are much more comfortable than those in the primary facility, although nonetheless a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while occupying the impressive official residence, around 20 kilometers away.

According to reports, the cell Bolsonaro could anticipate occupy in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 12 square meter balcony. “Bolsonaro would be authorized to have a TV and also a small fridge in his quarters as long as they were provided by his family,” the report stated.

Partisan Reactions

The lawmaker criticized the talked-about idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his outcome in the {