Bill restricts right to protest

Conectas and partners yesterday delivered to the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Senate a technical opinion recommending the rejection of Senate Bill 508/2013, which represents a huge setback for the freedoms of expression, association and demonstration. The document was prepared in partnership with the organizations IDDD (Defense of the Rights to a Defense Institute), Justiça Global, Article 19 and IDDH (Defenders of Human Rights Institute).

“The bill defines vandalism and increases penalties for existing crimes. It also considers the fact that a suspect was wearing a mask at a demonstration to be an aggravating factor. Whichever way you look at it, the bill is alarmist and casuistic, treating the exercise of fundamental rights as a crime,” said Rafael Custódio, coordinator of the Justice Program at Conectas.

Since the Commission meets every Wednesday, the organizations had anticipated that the bill would be voted today, but this did not happen. The five organizations will mobilize again next week in Brasília.