Conectas and the São Paulo State Defender’s Office file a complaint before the IACHR on deaths and abusive conduct during the Escudo and Verão Raids in the Baixada Santista region
The motion indicates a pattern of police lethality, investigative failures, and case dismissals surrounding deaths attributed to the raids carried out between 2023 and 2024
Foto: Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil
The Centers for Citizenship and Human Rights (NCDH, acronym in Portuguese) and for Childhood and Youth (NEIJ) of the São Paulo State Public Defender’s Office, together with Conectas Direitos Humanos, filed a complaint before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), of the Organization of American States (OAS), due to the understanding that severe human rights violations have been perpetrated during the Escudo (2023) and Verão (2024) police raids carried out in the Baixada Santista region. The motion is directed against the Brazilian government and gathers reports of relatives and surviving victims, in addition to documents and records related to the police raids.
According to the parties that undersign the complaint, the raids employed an elevated level of lethality, abusive use of force, and flaws when investigating events, including deaths recorded as “confrontations”, home invasions, generalized searches and intimidation, with direct impact on residents of city outskirts and families that lost relatives in police raids. One of the pieces of data mentioned is that, when tallying both operations, 84 people died.
Among the reports described, the plaintiffs indicate a pattern in which the version of the families and indirect witnesses is disregarded, whereas the narratives of the police officers themselves prevails and, in some cases, is used as basis for the decision to dismiss the criminal investigation proceedings. The complaint also reports suspicions of investigative flaws and problems in preserving the chain of custody, such as an absence of proper records of the position of apprehended firearms, indications that objects were removed from the scene before the experts arrived, and removal of bodies claiming emergency rescue proceedings even when the victims arrived at the hospital having already been deceased. The complaint further reports that body cams were either unused or improperly used by the police officers involved in the reported deaths. The document also states that diligence processes requested to clarify contradictions (such as reconstitutions, additional reports, and forensic investigations) have been denied, with dismissals being decided “without minimally exhausting all the evidence”.
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In some episodes classified as “alleged confrontations”, the complaint highlights elements that would put into question the allegation of true risk to the police officers. One of the surviving victims was in the bathroom, completely naked, when the officers started shooting. He was hit by gunfire and, in an attempt to survive, jumped from a height of 7 meters (23 ft). According to the narrative, body cams showed the moment at which a gun would have been planted at the scene of the crime by the police officers involved.
The document also mentions occurrences within homes and situations involving children and adolescents, which, according to the NEIJ, shows the impact of the raids on communities. Furthermore, “the violations perpetrated in the Escudo and Verão raids become even more severe when we notice that teenagers were direct victims, at a stage in their lives where they have a peculiar development condition and should enjoy full protection from the State”, comments Public Defender Gabriele Estabile Bezerra, assistant coordinator at the NEIJ.
“Black people and residents of the city outskirts are the most affected by these raids. There are flaws all along the investigation process and protocols are disregarded when analyzing and producing evidence that takes into account reports, versions offered by relatives of the victims and witnesses outside of law enforcement. Instead, the official versions were paramount for the conclusions of investigators and the prosecution, even when challenged and lacking proof in terms of technical and forensic elements”, states Gabriel Sampaio, director of litigation and advocacy at Conectas DIreitos Humanos.
The complaint further proposes that the Brazilian State is failing at reducing the tally of deaths resulting from police interventions, pointing to repeated episodes with dozens of deaths as a sign of lack of effective measures for prevention and the assurance of non-repetition.
According to Dr. Surrailly Fernandes Youssef, Assistant Coordinating Public Defender at the NCDH, the complaint is “yet another step in the struggle for justice, memory and reparation for relatives of victims and surviving victims. Given the internal flaws, we were urged to bring to the international fore this discussion on the need to enhance external control of law enforcement in Brazil and strengthen accountability mechanisms for those that perpetrate severe human rights violations”, she states.
Next steps
After filing the complaint, the case enters an initial analysis/study stage within the Commission. From that point on, the Brazilian State shall be invited to offer a statement: it will have to offer explanations on the measures adopted to hold the officers involved accountable, ensure reparations for families and surviving victims, and prevent and avoid similar violations from occurring in future raids. This response from the State involves both the Federal and State levels of government, which must forward information to the IACHR on concrete arrangements made (or not) in the face of the deaths and complaints of abuse.
Operation of the IACHR
Created in 1959 to promote and protect human rights in the American continent, the IACHR is an autonomous section of the OAS. It is made up of seven members, elected by the General Assembly every four years, with re-elections allowed only once. The initial work of the IACHR consisted of visiting countries with specific situations. The visits are the basis for the preparation of special reports with recommendations that assisted government policies. Starting in 1965, the commission also became expressly authorized to process complaints or motions on individual cases with allegations of human rights violations.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights receives motions, assesses the admissibility and merit of the cases and can recommend measures to the States. In specific situations, they can also forward the case for an analysis by the Inter-American Court, which may try and convict the State.
