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He fought the law and the legal system triumphed.

Sixty days after receiving a quarter-century plus sentence for seeking to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.

Anticipated Incarceration

The found-guilty instigator – who had been under residential detention in his mansion while a series of legal procedures and challenges play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, during increasing rumors that he will be moved to a infamous top-security facility.

Historical Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s long time in politics, the far-right former paratrooper exhibited little compassion for the country's prison population.

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

On another occasion, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to finish there, you simply need is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Destination Discussion

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda top-security prison in Brasília has appalled backers, several of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent attempt to dissuade the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, stated he expected the septuagenarian politician to be jailed in the next 10 days and worried his assigned prison could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute intestinal problems – the outcome of a life-threatening knife attack during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the ex-leader there. “His condition is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they move him to Papuda … It will be terrible,” said the senator, who also worried about cramped cells and the condition of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “It's almost one meter squared per inmate.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they protest, of course, of the terrible meals,” remarked the senator.

Supporters Speak Out

Lucas is not the lone figure expressing views prior to the ex-leader's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a prominent publication, a different supporter, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” time in office and alleged Brazil was about to witness “the largest wrong in its history”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the spirits of countless Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Mixed General Opinion

That may be accurate considering the considerable support Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his predicted imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of many others who feel he deserves to be imprisoned for planning to prevent the elected leader from becoming president – and additionally conspiring to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the incumbent administration's political party, commented: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be put in a dark cell. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We want him to receive proper care – but dignified treatment in prison. He must not persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

He observed how Bolsonaro allies, who have spent years praising the harsh conditions of inmates, had suddenly become aware to their entitlements. “Only now has the far-right – which has repeatedly argued that civil liberties were not for criminals – chosen to tour a prison to learn what situations are really like,” he remarked.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “shameful, insulting handling”.

Possible Prison Conditions

Regardless of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which presently contains about thousands of prisoners, his more likely destination seems to be a close penitentiary for officers and other “particular” prisoners known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

Its cells are much more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a world away from the comfort Bolsonaro had while living in the spectacular leader's home, approximately 20 kilometers away.

Based on reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to inhabit in Papudinha measures about 260 square feet – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “He could be permitted to have a set and additionally a cooler in his cell as long as they were donated by his relatives,” the report suggested.

Partisan Reactions

Senator Lucas condemned the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “an act of payback” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his outcome in the {