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He battled the legal system and the legal system won.

Two months after getting a 27-year sentence for trying to “destroy” the nation's democratic institutions, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Jailing

The adjudicated plotter – who had been subject to house arrest in his mansion while a set of legal procedures and challenges unfold – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the next few days, amidst growing talk that he will be sent to a infamous maximum security facility.

Previous Comments on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the far-right former soldier showed scant sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

“For what reason must we offer those lowlifes a easy time?” he previously wondered. “They should just get screwed, period. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to finish there, the only thing required is not rape, abduction or rob.”

Jail Destination Discussion

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda high-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, four of whom this week inspected the complex in an obvious effort to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was among that group, said he expected the septuagenarian figure to be jailed in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s serious digestive ailments – the consequence of a near-fatal knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His [health] situation is highly critical. He will not be able to cope if they send him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he commented, who also worried about cramped cells and the standard of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “It's virtually one square meter per detainee.

“We spoke to the convicts and they protest, naturally, of the terrible cuisine,” added the senator.

Supporters React

Lucas is not the only voice speaking out prior to the former president’s expected detention.

Writing in a leading publication, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its past”.

“It represents an injustice that eats away the spirits of millions of Brazilians,” he stated.

Varied Public Opinion

This could be correct due to the significant following Bolsonaro holds on the right-wing. Yet his anticipated jailing has also pleased the feelings of numerous individuals who think he ought to be imprisoned for plotting to block the incoming president from assuming office – and even scheming to have him killed.

Reimont Otoni, a representative for the incumbent administration's allied group, said: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in solitary confinement. Nobody wants Bolsonaro not to be fed or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive proper handling – but dignified treatment behind bars. He cannot persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the tough treatment of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their privileges. “Recently has the far-right – which has consistently argued that civil liberties were not for lawbreakers – chosen to visit a prison to learn what conditions are actually like,” he said.

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

Possible Incarceration Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently houses about 14,000 prisoners, his expected assigned facility looks to be a adjacent prison for law enforcement and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while living in the stunning presidential palace, about 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could anticipate reside in in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – about the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and includes a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 square meter balcony. “He could be authorized to have a television and additionally a minibar in his cell as long as they were supplied by his family,” sources indicated.

Partisan Responses

Senator Lucas criticized the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “an act of retaliation” on the part of the presiding magistrate who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {