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He contested the legal system and the legal system triumphed.

Sixty days subsequent to being handed a quarter-century plus sentence for trying to “destroy” Brazil’s democracy, one-time leader Jair Bolsonaro now seems destined for incarceration.

Expected Imprisonment

The adjudicated coup-monger – who's been under house arrest in his mansion while a set of court processes and appeals unfold – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the near future, amidst increasing rumors that he will be sent to a well-known top-security facility.

Past Statements on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s 40-year public life, the conservative former paratrooper showed little sympathy for Brazil’s prison population.

“For what reason must we give those dirtbags a good life?” he once pondered. “They deserve to be messed, period. That's my opinion.”

At another time, Bolsonaro declared: “Unless you desire to end up in prison, all you have to do is not rape, abduction or theft.”

Prison Destination Speculation

But the prospect of Bolsonaro himself ending up in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has horrified allies, four of whom this week inspected the prison in an apparent bid to prevent the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, stated he expected the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the following week and a half and feared his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s acute gut problems – the consequence of a life-threatening stabbing during the last political campaign – meant it would be dangerous to keep the one-time head of state there. “His health is very grave. He won’t 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 inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas noted witnessing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “That is virtually one square meter per detainee.

“We talked to the inmates and they protest, of course, of the awful meals,” continued the senator.

Backers Speak Out

The senator isn't the lone figure expressing views prior to the one-time head of state's expected detention.

Writing in a leading newspaper, another ally, the former cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “harsh” conclusion to Bolsonaro’s “spotless” public service and claimed Brazil was about to see “the biggest unfairness in its record”.

“It represents an injustice that gnaws the souls of many people in Brazil,” the former minister said.

Mixed General Response

This could be true due to the significant backing Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. However his anticipated jailing has also warmed the spirits of numerous others who think he should be jailed for planning to stop his successor from assuming office – and additionally conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a politician for the current president's allied group, commented: “Not a soul wishes Bolsonaro to be sent in a dungeon. Not a soul desires Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. Nobody wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We desire him to get dignified treatment – but dignified treatment behind bars. He can’t persist being his own prison warden for his entire life.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have long celebrating the severe treatment of inmates, had suddenly woken up to their rights. “Recently has the extreme right – which has consistently asserted that basic rights should not be for lawbreakers – opted to visit a prison to find out what circumstances are really like,” he remarked.

“He is a offender,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he deserved “degrading, demeaning treatment”.

Likely Incarceration Environment

In spite of talk that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which currently contains about fourteen thousand prisoners, his more likely destination looks to be a nearby prison for police officers and other “particular” detainees known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

His potential cell are considerably more adequate than those in the main prison, although nevertheless a far cry from the opulence Bolsonaro experienced while residing in the spectacular official residence, around 12 miles away.

As per reports, the cell Bolsonaro could likely inhabit in Papudinha has about 260 square feet – approximately the size of two parking spaces – and contains a 130 square foot bathroom with a shower and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be authorized to have a television and also a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his loved ones,” information stated.

Ideological Reactions

The lawmaker denounced the speculated idea to send the former leader to Papuda as “a type of payback” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will rule on his future in the {