Cases of torture in the Brazilian prison system increased by 37.6% from January 2021 to July 2022 compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020, points out a report by the Pastoral Carcerária Nacional, from the National Confederation of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB). 223 cases were recorded in the document Voices and Data on Torture in Times of Mass Incarceration, released today (18). In the previous edition, there were 162 records. Among the complaints gathered are situations of physical violence, lack of food and water and lack of medical care. “The last torture report was made during the covid-19 pandemic and, during that period, many family members and religious assistance were unable to enter prison. They were being barred. We believe that the return of these visits, given that many complaints come from pastoral agents and family members, was one of the factors that led to an increase in complaints. We received more cases”, explains Carol Dutra, from the legal department of Pastoral Carcerária. Most of the cases denounced by the pastoral are in São Paulo. There were 71 records, which represents 31.83% of the total. Next is Minas Gerais, with 31 cases. No complaints were received from Acre, Alagoas and Rio Grande do Norte. The entity points out that the state of São Paulo remains a “territory of extreme truculence and brutality against prisoners”. In previous reports, the state, which has the largest prison population in the country, with more than 200,000 inmates, was also at the forefront of complaints. The entity points out that the reduced number of complaints, or even the absence of cases in some states, does not represent the absence of violations or preservation of the rights of prisoners in these places. “On the contrary, the low number of cases may be the result of punitive atmospheres that surround the prison space, which threaten and feed the fear of whistleblowers who are coerced to remain silent”, warns the document. Types of violations Physical aggression is the most frequent type of violation in prisons, more than half of the complaints filed are punches, slaps, kicks, shots, sticks, among others. Another frequent behavior, with 81 cases (36.32%), is humiliating or degrading treatment, such as keeping people trapped sitting on the ground under the hot sun, preventing sunbathing for days, weeks or even months, keeping people trapped sleeping on the floor, applying collective punishment, among others. Violations against family members are also common, such as denying rights such as visiting, sending basic items for survival, the right to send letters and the entry of certain foodstuffs, humiliation and name-calling. “Unfortunately, the absence of the State is recurrent in any report, whether from any year. We receive few answers, they usually take a long time and, when we do, they [instituições] claim that the answers are generic because we keep the victims anonymous, for security reasons”, points out Carol. Referrals Upon receipt of the complaints, the National Prison Pastoral sends letters to the bodies of the criminal justice system, requesting the investigation of the case and the adoption of measures. Depending on the case, measures are also adopted that involve the leaders of the ministry closest to the prison unit. Of the 223 cases, therefore, 37 were monitored by local agents of the entity and, therefore, are not included in the analysis of institutional responses. 186 complaints were sent to public bodies, 31 were not answered. “The number is frightening, but not surprising. The Prison Pastoral has been reporting over the years the insensitivity of the criminal enforcement bodies in the investigation of the complaints sent”, points out the document. The entity also criticizes the discredit or appreciation of the reports presented. In 80% of cases, the initiation of an internal procedure is the measure adopted by the control body. The pastoral considers that this dynamic is natural from a bureaucratic point of view, but it should be rethought in terms of the preference to listen to “the Administration itself, ignoring the victims”. “From the moment people are arrested, they lose their voice, they lose their subjectivity, their identity, so when they denounce, when family members denounce, they are not understood as people who are worthy, who have the right to denounce the violence to which they are subjected. Institutions do not give voice and completely delegitimize their speech or even blame them for the violence they suffer”, criticizes Carol. She adds that, when sending the letters, the pastoral suggests a series of measures, but there is a standard procedure that should be adopted by the control bodies, such as on-site inspection, hearings with part or all of the people arrested, in addition to examination of the victims’ corpus delicti. Agência Brasil requested a position from the São Paulo Penitentiary Administration Secretariat, but there was no response until the publication of this article.
Agência Brasil
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