{"id":5983,"date":"2017-02-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.conectas.org.inf.br\/wp\/noticias\/negligence-exposed\/"},"modified":"2021-04-07T18:05:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T18:05:42","slug":"negligence-exposed","status":"publish","type":"noticia","link":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/en\/noticias\/negligence-exposed\/","title":"Negligence exposed","content":"<div class=\"tts_content_wrapper_1\" ><p>In an oral statement given this morning, March 3, in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Conectas Human Rights, the NGO Justi\u00e7a Global and Pastoral Carcer\u00e1ria (the Catholic Church\u2019s prisoner outreach service) denounced the negligence and omission of the institutions of the S\u00e3o Paulo justice system in cases of torture and mistreatment reported during custody hearings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the best of intentions, custody hearings were introduced in 2015. But as the National Justice Council has itself admitted, in two-thirds of states they result in more imprisonment. Moreover, the [UN] Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture has concluded that custody hearings in Brazil are not designed to prevent torture and mistreatment,\u201d said the organizations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/conectas.org\/arquivos\/editor\/files\/2017_03_02_OralStatement_Torture_2017_final.pdf\"><u>here<\/u><\/a> to read the statement in full.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The oral statement presented data from the research \u201cShielded Torture\u201d, conducted by Conectas, which analyzed 393 cases in which there were signs of police violence at the custody hearings in the Criminal Courthouse of Barra Funda. In only one of the cases did the judge order an investigation to be opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe disappointing conclusion was that the criminal justice system is perpetuating torture,\u201d the representative of the organizations told the Council.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the statement by the organizations (26:35):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/link.brightcove.com\/services\/player\/bcpid1722935254001\/?bctid=5345702691001&amp;autoStart=false&amp;secureConnections=true&amp;width=680&amp;height=270\" width=\"680\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>According to the study, 72% of the time the cases of violence were handled in a perfunctory and bureaucratic manner. In 33% of the hearings, the judges did not ask the detainees a single question about the occurrence of violence at the time of their arrest. Prosecutors, meanwhile, did not respond at all to the reports of torture or mistreatment in 80% of the cases.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/conectas.org\/arquivos\/editor\/files\/Suma%CC%81rio%20executivo_Tortura%20Blindada_Conectas%20Direitos%20Humanos.pdf\"><u>here<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to download the executive summary of \u201cShielded Torture\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The research \u201cShielded Torture\u201d was released today in Geneva at a side event to the 34th session of the Human Rights Council. The study was also delivered to United Nations authorities that work with the subject, such as the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Right of reply<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the statement by the organizations, Brazil requested the right of reply. Ambassador Maria Nazareth Farani Azev\u00eado, the country\u2019s permanent representative in Geneva, said that the federal government is aware of \u201cthe nature and scope of the challenges in the criminal justice system and the prison system\u201d, but that changes require time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also acknowledge the historical challenges that need to be overcome, many of which result from long-standing structural problems. These problems are being addressed with effective measures that require time to mature,\u201d said Azev\u00eado.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to highlighting initiatives on the federal level, such as the National Mechanism to Combat and Prevent Torture, the representative of Brazil also said that \u201cthe government is working closely with state and local authorities, as well as with the Judiciary, to strengthen and expand the program [of custody hearings] so that it can achieve its goals\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Click\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/conectas.org\/arquivos\/editor\/files\/Direito%20a%20resposta%20-%20audie%CC%82ncias%20de%20custo%CC%81dia.pdf\"><u>here<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to read the response of Brazil<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the statement by the ambassador (2:39:00):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/link.brightcove.com\/services\/player\/bcpid1722935254001\/?bctid=5345702704001&amp;autoStart=false&amp;secureConnections=true&amp;width=680&amp;height=270\" width=\"680\" height=\"270\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>According to Vivian Calderoni, of the Justice program at Conectas, one positive aspect of Brazil\u2019s response is its acknowledgement of the importance of the custody hearings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a consensus that the custody hearings are a fundamental step in combating torture in Brazil, but the government and the institutions of the justice system need to recognize that they must be modified and improved in light of the findings of this two-year project that illustrate the limitations of the current model,\u201d said Calderoni.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe custody hearings do not require time, they require effectiveness and to achieve this we urgently need to make changes. If we don\u2019t, they will serve not to prevent and combat police violence, but to legitimize it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See a judge within 24 hours<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Custody hearings were introduced in S\u00e3o Paulo two years ago in order to comply with the American Convention on Human Rights, which was ratified by Brazil in 1992. They ensure that detainees are presented before a judge within 24 hours of their arrest. In addition to the judge and the accused, the hearings are also attended by a representative of the Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the defense, which can be a private lawyer or a public defender.<\/p>\n<p>The hearings are not held to determine whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. After hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defense, and after questioning the detainee, the judge decides whether the accused will be held in pre-trial detention, whether they will be released on recognizance (with or without alternatives to detention, such as ankle monitors) or whether the charges against them will be dropped &#8211; which occurs when the arrest is illegal.<\/p>\n<p>Besides avoiding illegal or unnecessary detention, and therefore reducing incarceration, custody hearings were also conceived to prevent and combat torture, since they allow the institutions of the justice system to identify signs of police violence that will disappear by the time the evidentiary hearing takes place months later.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"tts__custom-position_bottom_fixed\" ><\/div>","excerpt":"<p>In an oral statement given this morning, March 3, in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Conectas Human Rights, the NGO Justi\u00e7a Global and Pastora&#8230;<\/p>\n","author":2,"featured_media":7654,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[119],"tema":[12270],"class_list":["post-5983","noticia","type-noticia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-torture","tema-confronting-institutional-violence"],"acf":{"author":false,"subtitle-pt":"S\u00e3o Paulo Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office and State Court denounced for omission over torture; 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