Brazil
05.02.03
Urgent Interventions

Brazil: violation of the personal integrity, including torture, of detainees in Sao Paulo

Case BRA 050203
Ill-treatment / Torture / Impunity

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Brazil.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by ACAT-Brazil of the violation of the personal integrity of detainees, including beatings, in Police Station no. 85 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as the very poor conditions of detention, which constitute ill-treatment, in which they are being detained.

According to the information received, on the 19th of January 2003 a shoot out followed a failed rebellion in police station no. 85. As a result a detainee was shot in the leg, a guard was wounded and an investigator was killed. The wounded detainee, Cleiton Barreto Pinheiros, was taken to the Grajau hospital where he waited for half an hour before receiving medical attention. In front of the two doctors who attended him, the policemen reportedly poured iodine and other chemicals on an open fracture to his right leg. The doctors witnessed this but reportedly did not intervene. Following x-rays having been taken of his wounded leg a cast was put on to immobilize it, but no antibiotic was prescribed. He was temporarily returned to police station no. 85 where, according to testimonies from other detainees, the police's Special Operations Group stormed the establishment arbitrarily firing shots and seizing the personal effects of the detainees while violently kicking them and beating them with clubs. Cleiton Barreto Pinheiros was also brutally beaten despite his already wounded leg and being in no condition to walk. Our sources claim that if he remains in such detention conditions he runs the risk of infection, which could be life-threatening.

According to the information received, on January 22nd, ACAT-Brazil, the Prison Ministry and the Commission on Human Rights of the Order of Lawyers of Brazil visited police station no. 85 and have reported about the very poor conditions under which the detainees are living. They reportedly bear signs of illness, bruising and other ailments, are not allowed to receive visitors and are routinely punished for the events that took place on the 19th of January 2003. The facility is reportedly holding 137 prisoners despite its 20 person capacity. There is no ventilation or sunlight and there is a lack of water, of clothing, of medication and of medical assistance. Detainee Tomas Martins Pereira has HIV, Cleiton Rogerio Tavares has tuberculosis and Jesus Cristino Machado is diabetic, but none receive medical attention. The following 48 detainees urgently request to be transferred to a better facility:

Socrates Soares da Silva, Daniel Gomes de Paula, Gilson Silva Cerqueira, Rogerio Santos de Oliveira, Eder de Jesus Reimbeg, Raimundo Nonato Mandonca,Valdir Xavier Siqueira Junior, Wilson Olavo dos Santos, Rafael Lima Gomes, Marcio de Sa Silva, Edmilson Costa Lima Romano, Emerson Elias Marques de Oliveira, Anderson Elias Marques de Oliveira, Arivaldo Franca Moreiro, Eduardo Cunha Passos, Davi Alves dos Santos, Jose Eduardo Cunha, Jorge Luis Machado, Joao Paulo de Souza Nunes, Gerson Cosme Delfino, Rubens Nogueira, Carlos Leandro Carvalho Lisboa, Anselmo Aparecido, Valdenor Batista da Silva, Jose Lindomar Dantas, Sergio Alves de Jesus, Gladijon Farias Pitanga, Renato Nascimento Santos, Fabio Evalengista Rogrigues, Rafael Lima Gomes, Julio Cesar de Paula, Reginaldo Lourenco de Castro, Alexandre Luis Caldeiro, Edmilson Sampaio Sodre de Souza, Sergio Inacio dos Santos, Daniel Douglas Xavier, Thiago Gomes Agostinho, Carlos Alberto Rodrigues Franca, Jair Isaias dos Santos, Wilian Goncalves da Silva, Sandro Jorge Jose Dias, Cosme Damiao da Silva, Valter Anacleto Dias, Franklin Rocha, Rafael Lima Gomes, Pedro Pereira de Souza, Alex Rodrigues de Melo,Vagner Cardoso

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned detainees, notably due to the violent beatings that constitute torture, to which they are being subjected, as a form of punishment for the events on January 19th, 2003. Furthermore, OMCT is gravely concerned about the very poor conditions under which the detainees in Police Station no. 85 are currently being held. In light of this, OMCT calls upon the authorities to take appropriate action to guarantee the afore-mentioneed detainees’ physical and psychological integrity, including providing adequate medical assistance as a matter of urgency to all in need, and, more generally, to improve the detention conditions under which they are being held.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Brazil urging them to:

i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees that are being held in Police Station no. 85 in Sao Paolo;
ii. guarantee their immediate access to adequate medical assistance;
iii. immediately launch a prompt and impartial investigation into these events, notably the torture to which Mr. Cleiton Barreto Pinheiros was subjected and the attacks on other detainees in Police Station no.85, in order to establish those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate reparation to all persons who were injured during these events;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout Brazil in accordance with international human rights law and standards.

Addresses

· S.E. Dr. Lula da Silva, Presidente da República, Presidencia da República, Praça dos Três Poderes, Palácio do Planalto, 3. Andar, 70.150-900 - Brasília - DF. Brasil. Fax: ( +55 61) 223 06 64 o 322 23 14. E-mail : pr@planalto.gov.br
· S.E. Márcio Thomaz Bastos, Ministro da Justiça, Ministério da Justiça, Esplanada dos Ministérios, bloco T, 4. Andar, 70.064-900 - Brasília - DF. Brasil. Fax : ( +55 61) 322 68 17. E-mail : gabinetem@mj.gov.br
· Dr.Nilmário Miranda, Secretario de Estado de Direitos Humanos do Ministerio da Justicia, Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bl. T Ed. Sede- Sala 420 – 70064-900, Brasília-DF. Fax : (+55 61) 226 798
· Governor Sao Paulo State, Exmo. Sr. Governador do Estado de Sao Paulo, Sr. Geraldo Alckmin, Palacio dos Bandeirantes, Av. Morumbi 4500, Morumbi, 05698-900, Sao Paulo - SP, Brasil, Fax: + 55 11 3745 3301/3751
· Sao Paulo State Attorney General, Procurador Geral de Justi‡a do Estado de Sao Paulo, Luiz Antonio Guimaraes Marrey, Procuradoria Geral de Justica, Rua Riachuelo, 115,8( andar 01007- 904 Sao Paulo-SP, Brasil, Fax: +55 11 3119 9633/9651

Please also write to the embassies of Brazil in your respective country.

Geneva, February 5th, 2003

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.