DPU points out overcrowding and lack of hygiene where they were arrested for acts of vandalism

The Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) published a report on the conditions in which those suspected of acts of vandalism on January 8 and those detained in front of the Army headquarters in Brasília were arrested. The report was published on Monday (23). In addition to the DPU, the Federal District Public Defender’s Office (DPDF) and the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture (MNPCT) participated in the survey.

On January 11, the bodies had already requested that the elderly and other groups have arrests converted into precautionary measures. The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes concluded this Friday (20) the analysis of the situation of prisoners. The Court reported that 1,459 minutes of the hearing relating to 1,406 people in custody were analyzed. In total, 942 people had their arrest in flagrante delicto converted into preventive detention and 464 obtained provisional release, through precautionary measures.

In the survey, the entities point out “overcrowding and structural problems, in addition to the lack of hygiene and health materials”. They point out that “these problems were already faced by the prison system of the Federal District before the arrests for anti-democratic acts”. The DPU and the other institutions acted both in the inspection of the prison units that received the detainees in flagrante delicto, and in the holding of custody hearings.

In the inspection, carried out on the 12th, at the Provisional Detention Center (CDP II), the defenders verified “the lack of supply, for all those in custody, of a hygiene kit, in particular, soap and deodorant”. Management informed the DPU that all “received new mattresses, hygiene kits were received and forwarded little by little”.

“Regarding food, some reported the poor quality of food and little quantity of fruit, with the discarding of a large part of the lunchboxes (lunch and dinner) being reported because they were unable to eat due to the bad taste and poor preparation”, he says. the report on the inspection at CDP II.

Deadline for custody hearing

The document points out that the 24-hour deadline for holding custody hearings was not observed. Defenders point out that, in some cases, people were presented in court about six days after the arrest.

“It cannot be denied that the situation experienced is far from normal, due to the detention of a large number of people in a short period of time, with referral to the prison system of a single entity of the federation, in this case the Federal District. However, considering that most of the custody hearings were held online […] there is no justification for the excess of time in the presentation of those in custody to the Judiciary for holding custody hearings”, says part of the report.

Arrest in flagrante delicto and communication with family members

During the custody hearings held, the defenders observed a large number of deficient arrest records, that is, not accompanied by the documentation indicated in article 304 and following of the Code of Criminal Procedure, such as the driver’s hearing, witnesses and examination of corpus delicti.

They also highlighted that there was no respect for the prisoner’s constitutional right to communicate with a family member or person indicated by him.

Over crowded

In “Colmeia”, the women’s prison, an average of 12 to 13 women were distributed in cells with a maximum capacity to house 8 people. The report further cited that the detainees believed they were being taken to the bus station when boarding the transfer bus.

“On the day they arrived, it was found that they were not aware that they were being taken to a prison, as the police responsible for escorting them did not inform them where they were being taken, they only informed them that they were being taken to the bus station”, he says. the pushing.

“We were also able to confirm this information through the reports of some of the custodians we interviewed. According to the management, the way they arrived at the unit, and the fact that many had never been to a prison, they were extremely psychologically shaken”, added the defenders.

The DPU requested that prisoners be able to receive a bag with food and hygiene and cleaning items. In addition to the implementation of receiving correspondence by the Correios transport and distribution service “equally favoring the entire prison population”.

“The request was made because, with fewer inmates, complaints about the insufficiency of foodstuffs, hygiene and health materials provided by prisons were already common and, with the increase in demand, it seems reasonable to increase the shipment of supplies and food to meet needs with sufficient quality and quantity”, says the report.

“The Defenders also requested that the operation of the canteens located inside the prisons of the Federal District be maintained, with an increase in the products available for sale”, added the defenders.