Reports pointed to violations of the rights of the January 8 defendants

Before the death of businessman Cleriston Pereira da Cunha – victim of a sudden illness while sunbathing in Papuda, where he had been preventively detained for ten months on suspicion of involvement in the acts of January 8th – at least three official reports from different entities pointed out violations of the human rights of the 8/1 defendants.

Since January, the businessman’s defense had been trying to request provisional release based on medical reports that warned of the risk of sudden death if Cleriston did not resume adequate treatment outside of prison.

In the requests for release, the lawyer also alleged abuses committed during the businessman’s arrest and during the prosecution process.

Due to comorbidities, Cleriston even received a favorable opinion from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) for Papuda’s departure.

The request for provisional release was forwarded to Moraes at the end of August and was awaiting analysis by the minister. Cleriston was 46 years old, lived in Brasília and leaves behind a wife and two daughters.

On January 23, 2023, the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU), the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (MNPCT), of the Ministry of Human Rights, and the Public Defender’s Office of the Federal District (DPU-DF) issued a joint document in which they report several problems due to the sudden increase in the prison population in the Federal District (DF).

In addition to reporting the detention of pregnant women, children and the elderly, the document warns of the lack of basic hygiene conditions, overcrowding of cells and other problems linked to the lack of structure in the prison.

The report lists violations of the 1988 Federal Constitution; the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of Saint Joseph of Costa Rica); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; to the Criminal Procedure Code; the Criminal Execution Law (Law 7,210/84); to the International Parameters arising from the case Acosta Calderón v. Ecuador, case of Chaparro Álvarez and Lapo Iñiguez v. Ecuador, case of Cabrera García and Montiel Flores v. Mexico; and the case of López Álvarez v. Honduras; the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules); the United Nations Rules for the treatment of women prisoners and non-custodial measures for female offenders (Bangkok Rules); the STF decisions handed down in the Claim of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPF) No. 347 and Direct Action of Unconstitutionality No. 5240; and resolution No. 213, of December 15, 2015, of the National Council of Justice (CNJ).

“During the custody hearings, actions and omissions were noted that, to some extent, contradicted fundamental rights and guarantees. Despite the seriousness of the facts, it is exactly in contexts like the current one that the Democratic Rule of Law is tested to the limit to guarantee, including to those who denied it, fundamental rights without any type of discrimination”, says an excerpt from the report.

In March, after inspection of the detention centers, the National Mechanism for the Prevention and Combat of Torture (MNPCT) concluded that the January 8 arrests caused overcrowding in the prison system, which led to several problems, such as “lack of privacy to carry out the basic needs”, “lack of ventilation and lighting” and “lack of basic hygiene items such as soap, toilet paper and sanitary pads”.

“According to the women’s reports, the quantity available in the kit is insufficient, the toilet paper and feminine pads provided by the unit are thin and of poor quality, as they do not contain menstrual flow. They demand that four packets of sanitary pads be distributed monthly instead of two. In order not to waste toilet paper due to the intensity of the flow, they have improvised the use of pieces of fabric from old sheets, which are unsuitable for this purpose”, says an excerpt from the MNPCT report.

Another report published in October by the Association of Families and Victims of 8 January (Asfav) highlights “human rights violations” of 8/1 prisoners and “abuses committed by the Federal Police (PF)” during the arrests of “people elderly, those responsible for minors and people with comorbidities”.

In the document, Asfav highlights that the violations have also been reported by jurists, however, “such appeals are ignored by the Supreme Court, which has applied very harsh sentences to the accused, up to 17 years, without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves”.