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He battled the legal system and the legal system triumphed.

Two months following being handed a twenty-seven-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” the nation's democratic institutions, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems destined for incarceration.

Imminent Imprisonment

The convicted coup-monger – who's been subject to house arrest in his estate while a number of legal procedures and petitions play out – is largely predicted to be jailed in the next few days, amid mounting rumors that he will be moved to a notorious top-security facility.

Past Remarks on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s 40-year time in politics, the conservative former military man exhibited little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we provide these scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be screwed, period. That's my view.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro declared: “If you don’t want to finish in prison, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or theft.”

Jail Facility Speculation

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week toured the prison in an seeming bid to discourage the high court from transferring him there.

Izalci Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was one of the visitors, said he expected the 70-year-old politician to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and worried his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute gut ailments – the consequence of a life-threatening knife attack during the 2018 presidential campaign – signified it would be hazardous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is extremely serious. He cannot to cope if they move him to Papuda … It could be awful,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about overcrowded cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas noted seeing cells containing four dozen detainees: “It's practically one square metre per prisoner.

“We talked to the inmates and they complain, of course, of the awful cuisine,” remarked the senator.

Allies Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the sole person expressing views before the ex-leader's predicted incarceration.

Writing in a major daily, another ally, the ex- communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the largest wrong in its history”.

“It is an wrong that eats away the souls of millions Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Mixed Public Response

This could be true given the significant following Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of many individuals who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to stop the elected leader from taking power – and also conspiring to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the incumbent leader's allied group, commented: “No one desires Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in segregation. No one wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain proper treatment – but respectful treatment in prison. He must not continue being his self-appointed guard for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time praising the tough treatment of convicts, had abruptly woken up to their rights. “Just now has the extreme right – which has consistently argued that civil liberties are not for offenders – opted to inspect a prison to discover what situations are truly like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, demeaning conduct”.

Possible Prison Environment

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which presently contains about thousands of inmates, his more likely destination appears to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are far more pleasant than those in the main prison, although nonetheless a distant from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while occupying the impressive leader's home, about 20 kilometers away.

As per information, the cell Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – roughly the size of two parking spaces – and features a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his quarters as long as they were donated by his family,” information indicated.

Ideological Reactions

He denounced the rumoured idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who presided over Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his future in the {