BackOn January 8 2023, the world watched in shock as a large group of people vandalized buildings that are the headquarters of the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary branches in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. About two thousand people were arrested by police forces after anti-democratic acts.
The people arrested in this act were sent to the prisons already occupied by other persons in situations of deprivation of liberty. As a result, overcrowding, which is already a chronic problem, has become even more pronounced. Inspections of prisons in Brasilia were therefore necessary to ascertain the conditions of these people.
In criminal matters, the Federal Public Defenders' Office (DPU) is legally responsible for defending people who don't have a private lawyer. Furthermore, as the institution designated to defend and guarantee human rights in Brazil, the DPU took part in these visits to prison units. Structural problems such as overcrowding were noted, a clear violation of basic rights.
Report on prison conditions
The document was produced by the Federal Public Defenders' Office (DPU), the Federal District Public Defenders' Office (DPDF) and the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (MNPCT). The institutions worked both in inspecting the prisons that received people arrested in the act, but also worked in holding preliminary hearings, when the arrested people were brought before a judge.
Preliminary hearings and miscommunication
The document also points out that the 24-hour deadline for holding preliminary hearings was not met, i.e. when the person arrested in flagrante is heard by a judge to assess any illegalities during the arrest. The defenders point out that, in some cases, people were brought before the judge six days after their arrest.
The report emphasises that there was no respect for the arrested people's constitutional right to communicate with their family or other person of their choice. During the preliminary hearings, the defenders also noted that the arrests in flagrante were made without the participation of witnesses or a forensic examination.
Kindly, find the full report in the download section below.
Source: The Federal Public Defenders' Office (DPU), Brazil
