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He fought the law and the law prevailed.

Two months following getting a 27-year sentence for seeking to “eradicate” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally appears jail-bound.

Expected Jailing

The convicted coup-monger – who's been subject to house arrest in his estate while a set of legal procedures and appeals play out – is broadly anticipated to be jailed in the coming days, amid mounting speculation that he will be sent to a infamous top-security penitentiary.

Past Remarks on Inmates

Over Bolsonaro’s 40-year political career, the right-wing former paratrooper showed little mercy for the country's jailed individuals.

“Why should we provide these scoundrels a easy time?” he once pondered. “They ought to simply be messed, end of story. That's my opinion.”

In another instance, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “Unless you desire to end up behind bars, the only thing required is to avoid rape, kidnap or rob.”

Jail Destination Discussion

Yet the prospect of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has shocked allies, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an obvious bid to dissuade the high court from banishing him there.

Senator Lucas, a politician from Bolsonaro’s allied group who was part of that quartet, claimed he predicted the 70-year-old politician to be imprisoned in the following week and a half and was concerned his location could be Papuda.

Lucas claimed Bolsonaro’s acute digestive problems – the consequence of a near-fatal assault during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be dangerous to keep the former president there. “His health is very grave. He will not be able to manage if they move him to Papuda … It would be terrible,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about cramped cells and the standard of inmate food.

When inspecting Papuda, Lucas remembered seeing cells holding forty prisoners: “That’s practically one meter squared per detainee.

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

Backers React

He is not the sole person speaking out prior to the ex-leader's predicted detention.

Writing in a leading newspaper, a different supporter, the ex- cabinet member Fábio Wajngarten, deplored the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and alleged Brazil was about to see “the biggest wrong in its record”.

“It is an injustice that erodes the hearts of countless Brazilian citizens,” the former minister said.

Varied Public Response

That may be correct given the substantial following Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. Yet his anticipated jailing has also gladdened the spirits of numerous other people who think he should be incarcerated for plotting to stop his successor from becoming president – and also conspiring to have him assassinated.

The lawmaker, a congressman for the sitting leader's political party, stated: “No one wishes Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in isolation. No one wishes Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to rest on hard ground. We wish him to obtain proper care – but proper care in prison. He can’t persist being his self-appointed guard for his lifetime.”

The congressman noted how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time celebrating the harsh treatment of prisoners, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the conservative fringe – which has repeatedly claimed that civil liberties should not be for lawbreakers – chosen to tour a jail to find out what situations are actually like,” he stated.

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

Potential Jail Conditions

Despite talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently houses about thousands of prisoners, his more likely assigned facility seems to be a close prison for police officers and other “unique” inmates known as Papudinha (Little Papuda).

Its cells are considerably more adequate than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro enjoyed while residing in the stunning presidential palace, around a short distance away.

As per information, the cell Bolsonaro could likely reside in in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – approximately the dimensions of a couple of car spots – and includes a 12 sq metre bathroom with a water facility and a 130 square foot terrace. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were donated by his relatives,” information suggested.

Ideological Responses

Senator Lucas denounced the talked-about plan to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of retaliation” on the part of the judicial authority who oversaw Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will decide his fate in the {