{"id":21464,"date":"2020-06-17T15:11:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-17T15:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/?post_type=noticia&#038;p=21464"},"modified":"2021-04-01T17:11:04","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T17:11:04","slug":"how-are-people-in-the-risk-group-for-covid-19-treated-in-the-prison-system","status":"publish","type":"noticia","link":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/en\/noticias\/how-are-people-in-the-risk-group-for-covid-19-treated-in-the-prison-system\/","title":"How are people in the risk group for Covid-19 treated in the prison system?","content":"<div class=\"tts_content_wrapper_1\" ><p>\u201cThere are 30 prisoners isolated from the rest waiting for confirmation. There are employees in tears, saying they have families and they are scared of catching the virus. And we don\u2019t have anyone. The only thing we have left is prayer. To ask God to protect us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Facebook group \u201cLove Behind Bars\u201d shares the letters and anxieties of prisoners sent to their families. The excerpt above is an example of the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on Brazil\u2019s detention centers.<\/p>\n<p>According to the latest official data,<strong> Brazil has a prison population of nearly 755,000 people<\/strong>. The number of available prison places, however, is just over 442,000. But the overcrowding is not the only problem. In the prison system, for example, cases of tuberculosis are 35 times more prevalent than in the general population, according to one study conducted by the P\u00fablica agency with data from the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n<p>Added to the inadequate food, water and hygiene and the lack of testing,<a href=\"https:\/\/conectas.org\/noticias\/coronavirus-no-sistema-prisional-brasileiro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"> the lethality of the novel coronavirus is five times higher among prisoners than the rest of society<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, which also affects prison staff, their families and, subsequently, all society.<\/p>\n<p>Until the last week of May, according to data from Depen (National Prison Department) of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, there had been <strong>1,079 confirmed cases of infection and 35 deaths in detention centers.<\/strong> But the numbers could be higher, since the data are not updated frequently and the lack of testing compromises the analysis.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Transfer of the risk group to house arrest<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>On March 17, the CNJ (National Justice Council) published a recommendation for judges to release or <a href=\"https:\/\/conectas.org\/noticias\/coronavirus-e-sistema-carcerario\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>transfer to house<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a> arrest people convicted of non-violent crimes who are in the risk group for Covid-19, such as elderly prisoners and pregnant or breastfeeding women. In April, Depen reported that 30,000 people had benefited from this measure, but the release orders did not always follow the criteria established by the CNJ.<\/p>\n<p>Lawyers, public defenders and human rights advocacy groups like <a href=\"https:\/\/ufrj.br\/noticia\/2020\/04\/01\/o-sistema-prisional-brasileiro-no-contexto-da-pandemia-de-covid-19\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">Conectas<\/span><\/strong><\/a> are pressing for the recommendation to be observed, but the opposition to the measure by the Brazilian population could be an obstacle.<\/p>\n<p>An example of this was evident in the video of the cabinet meeting held on April 22, released by the Supreme Court, in which President Jair Bolsonaro said: \u201c[Minister S\u00e9rgio] Moro was outraged by the release of these people. Because of the virus, they let rapists out.\u201d The then minister \u2013 who resigned just two days later \u2013 was present at the meeting but did not comment on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The new Minister of Justice, Andr\u00e9 Mendon\u00e7a, who took office on April 29 and has no experience in public security, <strong>did not reveal his plans for the prison system during the pandemic<\/strong> at his swearing-in ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>In the article \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ufrj.br\/noticia\/2020\/04\/01\/o-sistema-prisional-brasileiro-no-contexto-da-pandemia-de-covid-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">The Brazilian prison system in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u201d, the researcher K\u00e1tia Sento S\u00e9 Mello, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), noted that punitivism and violence have always underpinned political decisions in the country and have proven ineffective for five centuries. Now, by ignoring vulnerable groups in detention centers, besides being ineffective, they also are contributing to the spread of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"tts__custom-position_bottom_fixed\" ><\/div>","excerpt":"<p>Crowded conditions and lack of basic precautions or testing at detention centers compromise society as a whole<\/p>\n","author":2,"featured_media":27682,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[12355,14],"tema":[12270],"class_list":["post-21464","noticia","type-noticia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-covid-19-in-prisons","tag-tag-3-en","tema-confronting-institutional-violence"],"acf":{"author":false,"subtitle-pt":"Crowded conditions and lack of basic precautions or testing at detention centers compromise society as a whole"},"yoast":{"focuskw":"","title":"","metadesc":"Crowded conditions and lack of basic precautions or testing at detention centerscompromise society as a 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