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He contested the legal system and the legal system won.

A couple of months after getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “destroy” Brazil’s political system, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now appears destined for incarceration.

Imminent Incarceration

The adjudicated coup-monger – who had been under residential detention in his mansion while a number of court processes and petitions play out – is widely expected to be jailed in the coming days, during growing rumors that he will be moved to a infamous maximum security facility.

Past Statements on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade public life, the far-right ex- paratrooper displayed little mercy for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we give these dirtbags a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my opinion.”

On another occasion, Bolsonaro declared: “Should you not wish to wind up behind bars, all you have to do is not rape, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Debate

However the prospect of Bolsonaro himself winding up in the Papuda prison high-security prison in Brasília has horrified supporters, several of whom this week inspected the facility in an apparent effort to discourage the judiciary from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s Liberal party who was one of the visitors, said he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and feared his assigned prison could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s serious gut ailments – the result of a near-fatal stabbing during the 2018 presidential campaign – implied it would be hazardous to keep the ex-leader there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to cope if they take him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also voiced anxiety about cramped cells and the condition of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That’s virtually one square metre per inmate.

“We spoke to the inmates and they grumble, of course, of the terrible meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

The senator isn't the lone figure voicing opinions prior to the one-time head of state's anticipated detention.

Writing in a major newspaper, another ally, the former communications minister Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” public service and asserted Brazil was about to see “the biggest political injustice in its record”.

“This is an wrong that eats away the hearts of countless people in Brazil,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied Popular Reaction

That may be true given the considerable support Bolsonaro retains on the conservative side. Yet his predicted jailing has also pleased the spirits of numerous others who think he should be jailed for plotting to block his successor from assuming office – and also scheming to have him assassinated.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent leader's Workers’ party, said: “Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be sent in segregation. Not a soul wants Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We desire him to obtain dignified care – but proper handling in prison. He can’t persist being his personal jailer for his lifetime.”

He observed how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the tough handling of convicts, had abruptly become aware to their entitlements. “Recently has the far-right – which has consistently asserted that human rights were not for lawbreakers – chosen to tour a prison to discover what conditions are really like,” he stated.

“The former president is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he earned “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Possible Prison Facilities

In spite of rumors that Bolsonaro could be sent to Papuda, which currently houses about fourteen thousand inmates, his expected destination appears to be a close penitentiary for police officers and other “particular” detainees referred to as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are much more comfortable than those in the main prison, although still a distant from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the impressive official residence, about 20 kilometers away.

Based on information, the room Bolsonaro could anticipate inhabit in Papudinha is about 260 square feet – approximately the dimensions of vehicle spaces – and contains a 130 square foot WC with a bathing area and a 12 square meter terrace. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a small fridge in his room as long as they were donated by his family,” the report stated.

Ideological Reactions

He denounced the talked-about plan to send the ex-president to Papuda as “an act of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s legal case and will rule on his future in the {