Brazil prison uprisings reflect deep-rooted crisis
* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
19 February 2001 AMR 15/007/2001 30/01
The response to the upheavals in prisons in the city of São Paulo must be calm and measured and avoid any excessive use
of force, Amnesty International said today.
"To prevent the situation from further spiralling into violence it is essential that human rights defenders, church
representatives and independent observers be allowed to accompany any intervention by the authorities into the disrupted
prisons."
Most of the visiting family members taken hostage alongside prison guards in 29 prisons across the state of São Paulo
have now been freed. About 12 casualties were reported, at least two of which as a result of police action. "While the
incidents may have been triggered by the transfer of a number of gang leaders, the extent and scope of these uprisings
clearly point at much deeper problems within the São Paulo prison system," Amnesty International stressed.
With a prison population of over 90,000, and including one of the largest prisons in the whole region, the São Paulo
prison system has long been in a state of severe crisis. Amnesty International has documented this crisis, detailing the
extreme overcrowding, deaths in custody, the systematic use of torture, and lack of medical and sanitation facilities,
further compounded by the use of under-trained and under-paid prison staff, unable to deal with high levels of gang
warfare and regular riots.
Amnesty International recognises the efforts of Dr Nagashi Furukawa, recently appointed State Secretary for Penal
Administration, to improve São Paulo's penitentiaries with a progressive prisons building programme, backed with
attempts to solve the critical overcrowding in the police stations.
However these efforts clearly lack the necessary state and federal support to tackle such a long-standing and severe
problem.
"The Brazilian government must replace its rhetoric with proper political and financial support for reform of the penal
and judicial systems if it is to avoid future disasters like the Carandiru prison massacre of 1992," Amnesty
International said.
Background The Carandiru massacre was one of the most horrific incidents ever documented by Amnesty International in
Brazil. Military police stormed Latin America's largest prison, the Casa da Detenção (popularly known as Carandiru) in
São Paulo state on 2 October 1992 after a riot broke out. When they withdrew after an 11 hour killing spree, 111 inmates
were left dead.
Nine years on, not a single policeman has been brought to justice. The Brazilian authorities must confront the issue of
impunity as a key step to ending the killing and torture of prisoners.
Visit http://www.amnesty.org for information about Amnesty International and for other AI publications.
Contact mailto:amnestyis@amnesty.org
ENDS