At a Senate hearing, lawyers point to the violation of the rights of 8/1 prisoners

A public hearing in the Senate discussed this Thursday (13) the arrest of suspects for the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers in the acts of January 8. Prisoners’ representatives and lawyers said there were human rights violations against more than 200 people who are still detained at the Papuda Penitentiary Complex and at the Federal District Women’s Penitentiary, Colmeia.

The president of the Association of Relatives and Victims of January 8, Gabriela Fernanda Ritter, reported situations experienced by relatives of the detainees and stated that many people who are arrested demonstrated in an orderly and peaceful manner during the camp set up in front of the Headquarters (HQ) of the Army, in Brasília and did not participate in the acts and depredation, informed Agência Brasil.

“On January 8th, I remember that, when the images of all that war scenario started to arrive there, it was very scary. I remember that my family and I knelt down and got desperate because we know that our family members, the people who came to Brasilia, didn’t have that intention, they didn’t come for this absurd thing that happened”, he said.

Gabriela classified the arrests as illegal, also said that people are having their right to defense curtailed and that there is no individualization of conduct imputed to prisoners. Faced with the scenario described, family members decided to found the association on April 28 “to give voice to families and victims”.

“We are not here to defend those who committed a crime, those who vandalized, but we want these people to have the right to defend themselves,” he said. “It is necessary to properly distinguish between those who were there to demonstrate peacefully and those who vandalized, so as not to unfairly penalize innocent people,” he added.

The Deputy General Public Defender of the Federal District, Emmanuela Saboya, said that the Public Defender’s Office has been monitoring the situation of the prisoners on a daily basis. She stated that she had received reports that access to prisons was being made difficult. Saboya also said he had heard complaints about the lack of comfort in the cells and the food provided to prisoners.

The defender said that the agency does not act in these cases because the crimes attributed to these prisoners are federal and that it is up to the Public Defender of the Union (DPU) to accompany these people. According to Saboya, a report on the situation of the prisoners was forwarded to the agency. “There is overcrowding, since the first days, we saw that in a cell for eight people there were 16, but there are mattresses for everyone”, she said.

Representing the defense of those prosecuted for the acts of January 8, lawyer Carolina Siebra criticized the arrests and said that there were violations of the rights of these people, since, according to her, the custody hearings of those involved in the invasion of public buildings on the January 8 and those camped in front of the Army HQ took place irregularly.

“We saw judges who were delegated to do that act and, in the case of my assisted, the judge read a script and at the end we made different requests, people who had comorbidities asked to be released from prison, then the Public Ministry also read a script”, criticized the lawyer, who classified the episode as “absurd”.

On January 18, Justice concluded the custody hearings of 1,410 people suspected of participating in acts of vandalism. Of the total, prosecutors and prosecutors sent 1,408 requests to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), including preventive arrests, provisional release with precautionary measures and prison release.

The lawyer criticized the inclusion of people arrested in front of the Army HQ with the argument that there is no legal provision for the Court to judge these people. She also stated that many people did not even know where the headquarters of the STF is.

“The people at the HQ didn’t even come close to the STF. And they are being judged by the STF. The lack of individualization makes this happen, we put everyone in a pot and beat this broth and everyone goes on this train ”, he said.