Disregard and inaction

Brazilian government keeps in secrecy UN report with recommendations for prisons in Manaus

A report produced by experts from the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) containing recommendations for the prison system in the state of Amazonas, where at least 56 people have been killed, is being kept in secrecy by the Brazilian government.

The experts were in Brazil from October 19-30, 2015 and they inspected prisons in the Federal District and the states of Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Amazonas. Based on these on-site visits, the Subcommittee produced a report that addresses the shortcomings of the visited prison facilities and makes recommendations to stop the violations.

According to the official website of the SPT, the Brazilian government has been in possession of the document since November 24, 2016. However, it has the prerogative to decide whether to release the document.

“Keeping a document of this importance in secrecy is further proof of the disregard of the Brazilian authorities for the prison system and for the people in State custody who live in inhumane conditions and are liable to lose their lives in a brutal manner, like what happened this week in Manaus,” said Marcos Fuchs, associate director of Conectas.

In 2011, when the SPT made its first visit to Brazilian prisons, the government also failed to publish the report produced by the experts until Conectas filed a Freedom of Information Request based on the Freedom of Information Law that at the time had only recently come into effect.

The organization has today submitted a new Freedom of Information Request calling on the Brazilian government to immediately publish the full report from the UN on its visit in 2015.