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He fought the law and the law prevailed.

A couple of months after being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for attempting to “annihilate” the nation's democratic institutions, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems jail-bound.

Imminent Incarceration

The convicted plotter – who had been subject to house arrest in his residence while a series of legal procedures and challenges unfold – is largely predicted to be imprisoned in the coming days, amidst mounting talk that he will be transferred to a well-known top-security facility.

Historical Statements on Prisoners

During Bolsonaro’s long political career, the conservative ex- paratrooper displayed little sympathy for Brazil’s inmates.

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

In another instance, Bolsonaro stated: “Should you not wish to wind up there, the only thing required is to avoid sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Jail Location Discussion

Yet the idea of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison top-security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an obvious effort to prevent the supreme court from banishing him there.

Izalci Lucas, a senator from Bolsonaro’s political party who was among that group, stated he expected the septuagenarian leader to be jailed in the coming fortnight and worried his destination could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious intestinal problems – the consequence of a almost deadly knife attack during the last election race – implied it would be hazardous to keep the former president there. “His condition is highly critical. He cannot to manage if they send him to Papuda … It will be dreadful,” he commented, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.

While visiting Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells containing forty prisoners: “That’s virtually one square metre per detainee.

“We talked to the prisoners and they grumble, naturally, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Allies Speak Out

The senator isn't the sole person expressing views prior to the ex-leader's expected incarceration.

Penning in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” time in office and asserted Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its past”.

“This is an unfairness that eats away the spirits of many of Brazilians,” Wajngarten wrote.

Divided General Opinion

That may be correct given the substantial backing Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. However his anticipated jailing has also pleased the spirits of numerous others who feel he deserves to be jailed for plotting to prevent the incoming president from taking power – and even plotting to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a politician for the sitting leader's allied group, said: “Nobody desires Bolsonaro to be placed in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to obtain dignified handling – but respectful treatment while incarcerated. He must not persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro backers, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh handling of prisoners, had abruptly realized to their rights. “Recently has the extreme right – which has repeatedly argued that human rights should not be for lawbreakers – decided to inspect a penitentiary to learn what circumstances are actually like,” he said.

“He is a offender,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, insulting treatment”.

Possible Prison Environment

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about 14,000 prisoners, his more likely location seems to be a close jail for police officers and other “special” prisoners known as Papudinha (Minor Papuda).

The accommodations are much more pleasant than those in the larger jail, although nonetheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the impressive official residence, about a short distance away.

According to sources, the cell Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha is about 24 square meters – about the area of two parking spaces – and contains a 130 square foot WC with a water facility and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a TV and additionally a cooler in his quarters as long as they were provided by his relatives,” sources indicated.

Ideological Comments

Senator Lucas condemned the talked-about proposal to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of retaliation” on the part of the supreme court judge who oversaw Bolsonaro’s legal case and will decide his outcome in the {