Arrested in the acts of January 8 in Brasília dies in Papuda prison

Brasilia businessman Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, aged 46, died this Monday morning (20) at the Papuda Penitentiary Complex, in Brasília. He had been imprisoned since January 8th as a result of the protests that culminated in the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers.

With a delicate clinical condition, Cleriston had obtained a favorable opinion from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) for his release at the end of August. All that was left was for Alexandre de Moraes, from the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to analyze the document and proceed with provisional release.

According to an order from Judge Leila Cury sent to Minister Moraes, Cleriston had a sudden illness at around 10 am while sunbathing, and was attended to at 10:18 am by teams from Samu and the Fire Department. The document indicates that the agents tried to help the businessman, but were unsuccessful – his death was declared at 10:58 am.

Sources heard privately by People’s Gazette They claim that he suffered a massive heart attack, and that he had already been ill with similar symptoms on another occasion since he was detained.

“The deceased was imprisoned exclusively due to the conversion of his arrest in flagrante delicto into preventive detention, in the files of PET 4879 – STF, he received regular visits from his partner and two daughters and lived in the Federal District. He also received regular medical care”, wrote the judge in the order obtained by the report.

Also according to the document, Cleriston was taking medication for diabetes and hypertension, and had already been treated at the Papuda medical service for symptoms of Covid-19.

Wanted by People’s Gazettethe State Secretariat for Penitentiary Administration (Seape) sent the following note about the case:

“The DF Penitentiary Administration Secretariat (Seape/DF) reports the death of the 46-year-old CPC custodian, which occurred today, around 10 am, at the Provisional Detention Center II of the Federal District (CDP II). accompanied by a multidisciplinary team from the Basic Health Unit located in the prison unit itself since entering the unit on 01/09/2023. Today, this same health team carried out resuscitation maneuvers as soon as the sudden illness was confirmed until the arrival of the SAMU team and firefighters who were immediately called.”

Cleriston’s lawyer, Bruno Azevedo, is in Papuda this afternoon investigating the causes of death and is expected to comment by the end of the day. He had requested the revocation of the businessman’s arrest in May to convert it into precautionary measures, and had already had a favorable opinion from the MPF for his release since the end of August. However, Moraes had not yet analyzed the document that could guarantee Cleriston’s provisional freedom.

“The Federal Public Ministry expresses its support for granting the request for provisional release to Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, combined with precautionary measures other than prison,” wrote Carlos Frederico Santos, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic in a document obtained by Gazeta do Povo.

One of the detainees who lived with the businessman, Gilberto Ackermann, told the reporter that Cleriston was an active person and “raised the self-esteem of everyone inside”. “He was a very family person, hard-working, Christian. It hurts to know that, by default, he became a family man before he was 50, certainly out of concern for everything he was going through inside,” he said.

Ackermann occupied the cell next to Cleriston in Papuda and was released in mid-August with precautionary measures. He was recently sentenced to 17 years in prison. According to him, the complex’s health service had been neglecting the inmates.

“The health service is very lax inside, it is public and it is well known. The only reason people hadn’t died yet is because there’s a doctor trapped there too,” she said.

He also said that Cleriston felt ill once during the night and that there was a delay in receiving care. “It was desperate inside, we started knocking on the cells to ask for help, until the ambulance came and took him to the hospital”, he added.

At the end of the day, Minister Alexandre de Moraes issued an order asking for more information about the death. A People’s Gazette asked the STF for more information about the case, but the agency’s advisors informed that there would be no statement for now.