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He battled justice and the law triumphed.

Sixty days after receiving a 27-year sentence for attempting to “destroy” the nation's democracy, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally seems headed to prison.

Anticipated Imprisonment

The convicted instigator – who has been living under home confinement in his residence while a number of court processes and appeals proceed – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the next few days, amidst mounting talk that he will be moved to a notorious maximum security facility.

Historical Remarks on Inmates

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade political career, the right-wing former paratrooper showed scant sympathy for the country's prison population.

“For what reason must we offer those dirtbags a easy time?” he once mused. “They ought to simply be fucked, full-fucking-stop. That’s what I reckon.”

At another time, Bolsonaro stated: “Unless you desire to finish behind bars, the only thing required is not sexual assault, kidnap or rob.”

Incarceration Location Discussion

But the idea of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda prison maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled allies, four of whom this week inspected the facility in an seeming attempt to dissuade the high court from sending him there.

Senator Lucas, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, said he predicted the septuagenarian politician to be incarcerated in the coming fortnight and was concerned his destination could be Papuda.

The senator argued Bolsonaro’s severe gut issues – the outcome of a near-fatal stabbing during the last election race – implied it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His condition is extremely serious. He will not be able to handle it if they take him to Papuda … It could be awful,” he added, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the standard of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas remembered witnessing cells accommodating 40 detainees: “That’s practically one meter squared per prisoner.

“We talked to the convicts and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the terrible food,” continued the senator.

Supporters Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the only voice expressing views prior to the former president’s expected imprisonment.

Penning in a leading daily, a different supporter, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, bemoaned the “brutal” end to Bolsonaro’s “impeccable” political career and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the greatest political injustice in its record”.

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

Varied General Reaction

This could be accurate given the considerable backing Bolsonaro maintains on the right-wing. Yet his expected imprisonment has also gladdened the spirits of many others who believe he deserves to be imprisoned for conspiring to prevent his successor from taking power – and also plotting to have him killed.

Congressman Otoni, a congressman for the incumbent administration's allied group, commented: “Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a hole. No one desires Bolsonaro to be placed in isolation. No one wants Bolsonaro to go hungry or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to obtain respectful treatment – but respectful handling while incarcerated. He cannot continue being his own prison warden for his lifetime.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro backers, who have spent years celebrating the harsh treatment of prisoners, had abruptly become aware to their rights. “Recently has the far-right – which has always argued that human rights should not be for offenders – decided to visit a penitentiary to find out what circumstances are actually like,” he said.

“Bolsonaro is a criminal,” Otoni insisted, but that did not mean he deserved “shameful, demeaning treatment”.

Likely Jail Conditions

Regardless of talk that Bolsonaro could be moved to Papuda, which currently holds about fourteen thousand inmates, his probable assigned facility appears to be a adjacent jail for police officers and other “particular” prisoners called Papudinha (Little Papuda).

The accommodations are much more adequate than those in the larger jail, although nevertheless a world away from the opulence Bolsonaro had while occupying the spectacular presidential palace, approximately a short distance away.

Based on information, the cell Bolsonaro could likely occupy in Papudinha has about 24 square meters – about the area of a couple of car spots – and contains a 12 square meter restroom with a shower and a 130 square foot terrace. “He could be authorized to have a set and also a minibar in his room as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” sources indicated.

Ideological Comments

Senator Lucas criticized the rumoured proposal to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the presiding magistrate who presided over Bolsonaro’s coup trial and will determine his future in the {