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He battled the legal system and the law won.

A couple of months following being handed a 27-year sentence for trying to “eradicate” Brazil’s political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro now seems jail-bound.

Imminent Imprisonment

The convicted instigator – who's been subject to residential detention in his estate while a series of legal procedures and petitions play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the near future, amidst growing talk that he will be sent to a infamous top-security facility.

Past Statements on Convicts

During Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the conservative former soldier exhibited scant mercy for Brazil’s inmates.

“For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They deserve to be messed, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up there, you simply need is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or theft.”

Jail Destination Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has shocked supporters, four of whom this week toured the complex in an obvious attempt to discourage the high court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, claimed he anticipated the elderly figure to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious digestive issues – the result of a life-threatening assault during the 2018 presidential campaign – meant it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His health is highly critical. He cannot to manage if they take him to Papuda … It would be awful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the quality of jail cuisine.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas recalled seeing cells holding four dozen detainees: “That is almost one square metre per inmate.

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

Backers Voice Concerns

The senator isn't the only voice expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's expected imprisonment.

Penning in a major daily, another ally, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest wrong in its record”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the hearts of millions of Brazilians,” the former minister said.

Mixed Popular Reaction

It is possibly true given the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the conservative side. Yet his expected incarceration has also pleased the feelings of millions other people who feel he deserves to be incarcerated for conspiring to stop the elected leader from taking power – and also scheming to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the sitting president's political party, commented: “Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to be placed in a dark cell. Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to get dignified treatment – but dignified care while incarcerated. He can’t carry on being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro allies, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh treatment of inmates, had suddenly woken up to their privileges. “Only now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties should not be for criminals – opted to tour a jail to learn what conditions are truly like,” he said.

“The former president is a criminal,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “humiliating, degrading conduct”.

Potential Jail Conditions

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his expected assigned facility appears to be a adjacent penitentiary for law enforcement and other “unique” inmates called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro enjoyed while living in the impressive official residence, approximately 20 kilometers away.

According to sources, the accommodation Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha measures about 24 square meters – roughly the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and contains a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 130 square foot balcony. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his room as long as they were provided by his relatives,” the report suggested.

Political Responses

The lawmaker condemned the speculated plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the judicial authority who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will decide his fate in the {