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He contested the law and the law triumphed.

A couple of months after receiving a 27-year sentence for trying to “annihilate” the nation's political system, former president Jair Bolsonaro finally looks jail-bound.

Expected Incarceration

The adjudicated instigator – who has been under home confinement in his mansion while a series of court processes and appeals play out – is widely expected to be imprisoned in the near future, amid mounting rumors that he will be sent to a notorious maximum security facility.

Past Statements on Prisoners

Throughout Bolsonaro’s four-decade time in politics, the conservative former military man exhibited minimal compassion for Brazil’s prison population.

“What’s the need to offer those scoundrels a comfortable existence?” he once mused. “They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's my view.”

At another time, Bolsonaro proclaimed: “If you don’t want to wind up there, the only thing required is not sexual assault, abduction or rob.”

Prison Location Speculation

Yet the possibility of Bolsonaro himself landing in the Papuda maximum security prison in Brasília has appalled supporters, four of whom this week toured the prison in an apparent attempt to dissuade the high court from transferring him there.

The senator, a politician from Bolsonaro’s political party who was part of that quartet, claimed he anticipated the septuagenarian leader to be incarcerated in the next 10 days and feared his destination could be Papuda.

He asserted Bolsonaro’s severe intestinal problems – the consequence of a near-fatal knife attack during the last presidential campaign – signified it would be risky to keep the one-time head of state there. “His [health] situation is very grave. He will not be able to handle it if they send him to Papuda … It will be awful,” said the senator, who also expressed concern about overcrowded cells and the standard of prison meals.

During his tour Papuda, Lucas recalled observing cells holding four dozen prisoners: “It's practically one square metre per detainee.

“We conversed to the prisoners and they protest, unsurprisingly, of the awful food,” remarked the senator.

Allies Voice Concerns

Lucas is not the lone figure speaking out before the one-time head of state's anticipated incarceration.

Penning in a prominent daily, another ally, the former government official Fábio Wajngarten, lamented the “severe” finale to Bolsonaro’s “flawless” political career and claimed Brazil was about to experience “the largest unfairness in its record”.

“It represents an injustice that gnaws the souls of countless Brazilian citizens,” Wajngarten wrote.

Varied Public Opinion

That may be true due to the significant support Bolsonaro retains on the Brazilian right. Yet his expected imprisonment has also warmed the spirits of numerous others who feel he should be imprisoned for conspiring to stop the elected leader from becoming president – and also plotting to have him murdered.

Congressman Otoni, a representative for the current president's political party, said: “No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in a dark cell. No one wants Bolsonaro to be sent in solitary confinement. No one desires Bolsonaro to lack food or for him to have to lie on concrete. We want him to receive proper treatment – but dignified handling behind bars. He cannot carry on being his self-appointed guard for his whole life.”

Otoni was struck by how Bolsonaro supporters, who have for a long time praising the tough treatment of convicts, had abruptly woken up to their entitlements. “Just now has the extreme right – which has repeatedly asserted that human rights should not be for criminals – opted to visit a jail to find out what circumstances are really like,” he stated.

“Bolsonaro is a lawbreaker,” he affirmed, but that did not mean he merited “humiliating, insulting treatment”.

Possible Incarceration Facilities

In spite of speculation that Bolsonaro could be transferred to Papuda, which now holds about 14,000 inmates, his more likely assigned facility appears to be a nearby jail for officers and other “special” detainees known as Papudinha (Small Papuda).

The accommodations are considerably more pleasant than those in the primary facility, although still a far cry from the luxury Bolsonaro had while residing in the stunning official residence, about 12 miles away.

According to reports, the room Bolsonaro could expect to reside in in Papudinha is about 24 sq metres – roughly the area of two parking spaces – and includes a 12 square meter WC with a bathing area and a 12 sq metre veranda. “The ex-president might be allowed to have a set and even a minibar in his quarters as long as they were supplied by his relatives,” information suggested.

Political Responses

He criticized the speculated idea to send the one-time head of state to Papuda as “a form of revenge” on the part of the supreme court judge who led Bolsonaro’s proceedings and will rule on his outcome in the {