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Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), goes to Rio de Janeiro, in person, in order to conduct the hearings of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL), police officers, prosecutors and others, on the most lethal police mega-operation in the history of Brazil. Castro must explain the operation point by point, as requested by the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH).
The minister will conduct Castro’s hearing at the Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC) of the Military Police, in the center of Rio/Photo: Provided
Moraes scheduled a hearing for November 3, with set times for each one. The minister will conduct Castro’s hearing at the Military Police’s Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC), in the center of Rio.
- governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, with the state’s Secretary of Public Security, the commander of the Military Police, the general delegate of the Civil Police and the director of the General Superintendence of Technical-Scientific Police, at 11 am;
- president of the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro, at 1:30 pm;
- Attorney General of the State of Rio de Janeiro, at 3pm; and
- general public defender of the state of Rio de Janeiro at 4:30 pm.
According to the decision, the governor must present the information in detail at the designated hearing.
Moraes’ decision comes within the scope of the so-called ADPF das Favelas, which is being processed by the STF. ADPF das Favelas is the action that monitors the problem of police lethality in Rio de Janeiro.
The analysis was under the rapporteurship of Luís Roberto Barroso since September, when Edson Fachin assumed the presidency of the STF.
With Barroso’s retirement and without a new minister, the action was left without a rapporteur. As a result, it was transferred to the responsibility of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who will act on the case until the next minister takes Barroso’s place.
In the statement presented by the CNDH, the partial approval of the plan to reduce police lethality is highlighted and compliance with the principles of proportional use of force is determined, as well as the installation of recording equipment in police uniforms and vehicles.
The council emphasizes that, despite the decision, the mega-operation took place, described as another stage of Operation Containment in the Alemão and Penha complexes. To date, the official death toll is 121. Additionally, 113 people have been arrested.
Therefore, as requested by the CNDH, Moraes ordered the Rio government to provide the following information:
- detailed report on the operation;
- prior definition of the appropriate degree of force and formal justification for its implementation;
- number of agents involved, identification of the active forces and weapons used;
- official number of deaths, injuries and people detained;
- adoption of measures to ensure accountability in the event of possible abuses and violations of rights, including the action of expert bodies to carry out examinations and identify traces of crimes, use of body cameras and cameras in vehicles;
- measures adopted to assist victims and their families, including the presence of ambulances;
- protocol or program of non-repetition measures in accordance with current legislation; and
- the adoption, by the STF, of complementary and urgent monitoring and inspection measures regarding compliance with the determinations established in the ADPF 635 ruling, especially in light of yet another episode of police lethality that occurred in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
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ADPF of Favelas
In April this year, the STF approved, with the unanimous support of 11 ministers, structural measures to reduce the fight against police lethality and organized crime in Rio de Janeiro. The decision was exposed in the trial regarding the Allegation of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 635, known as ADPF das Favelas.
Among the changes foreseen in the decision was that the Federal Police (PF) must investigate crimes by criminal organizations operating interstate, while the state will have to present a plan to retake territories dominated by factions, with federal funding.
The measures also include specific standards for operations near schools and hospitals, ensuring proportionality in the use of force.
The STF also determined a series of measures to increase control and transparency in police operations that result in deaths, both of civilians and security agents. Among the main demands are the immediate preservation of the crime scene, the mandatory autopsy in cases of deaths caused by police intervention and the conclusion of investigations by the internal affairs bodies within 60 days.
The court also reinforced the need for detailed public data on clashes and ordered the expansion of the use of body and vehicle cameras in Rio de Janeiro.
