OVER 150 ORGANISATIONS HAVE SENT A LETTER TO THE NATIONAL JUSTICE COUNCIL REQUESTING VETO OF CUSTODY HEARINGS VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE
The letter sent to the CNJ (National Justice Council) states that custody hearings by virtual channels would not fulfil their function
Study monitored custody hearings in courts in São Paulo of people accused of small-scale trafficking (Photo: Reproduction CNJ)
Public defenders, magistrates, prosecutors, judges, organisations for the defence of human rights, legal institutions and social movements from all over Brazil are against custody hearings via videoconference, a matter which is to be voted on at a virtual plenary session by the CNJ on Monday 22 June at 2pm.
In a letter sent to CNJ advisers, the organisations state that a custody hearing via virtual channels would not be fulfilling its function, because it would not be possible for the magistrate to identify indications of the practice of torture and also because there would be no guarantee of a suitable environment for the detainee to be heard.
A group of over 150 organisations called on the CNJ to postpone voting, to hold public debates, provide a scaled timetable for the resumption of in-person hearings and for CNJ Recommendation 62, which highlights the need for qualified experts in order to detect torture, to be observed.
If voting on the resolution goes ahead, the organisations are in favour of upholding article 19 of the proposal that vetoes videoconferencing for those in custody.
The organisations have formed the campaign #TorturaNãoseVêpelaTV, launched on social media, to block virtual custody hearings. There will be drive for users to tweet the hashtag, on Monday at 11am.
