Pablo Santos Silva, 20 years old, unjustly imprisoned for alleged armed robbery on October 27, 2024, must receive a compensation of R$ 57,416 thousand from the State of São Paulo for moral and material damages, as determined by the Court of Justice.
The case occurred in the Guilhermina neighborhood, in Praia Grande. On that occasion, a couple had their cell phones stolen by three men, one of whom was in possession of a firearm. After being called by the GCM (Municipal Civil Guard), one of the devices was located near a school and a wine cellar, in the Antártica neighborhood.
According to the Public Defender’s Office, Pablo and another man were arrested hours after the crimewhich occurred around 7:40 pm, and their faces were photographed by the police during the investigation. The images were sent via a messaging app to the victims, who recognized both as the alleged authors do crime.
The young people were arrested and taken to the police station, where they were personally recognized by the victims, who described the perpetrators of the crime as and with . With the young people, nothing illegal was found, nor were any of the devices.
In a custody hearing held on October 27, 2024, Pablo’s preventive detention was ordered.
What the defense says
According to the criminal lawyer Renan Lourençoresponsible for the young man’s defense, reparation was sought after a series of irregular findings regarding the arrest, such as the lack of flagrant and methods of recognizing suspects who violated the law.
Pablo was imprisoned for eight months for a who was later proven to have no involvement. Images used by the defense and shared with the CNN Brazil to prove the defendant’s innocence, they show that, at the time of the events, the young man was in the barbershop, getting his hair cut.
In the request for compensation, Pablo’s defense stated that the young man’s arrest was based on the color of his skin and based on discriminatory and precarious filters, and not on suitable evidence.
“This approach based on stereotypical physical features and common clothing reveals a structural defect that contaminates the entire procedure. The TJSP (São Paulo Court of Justice) ruling itself highlighted that Pablo was approached about an hour after the events, without carrying stolen objects or firearms, and that the motivation for
approach derived exclusively from the combination of racial and dress characteristics,” he claimed.
Moral and material damages
For Renan, this set of vices represents a in which “skin color and dark clothing were transformed into criteria for criminal prosecution, to the detriment of due legal process and the presumption of innocence.”
Furthermore, the lawyer stated that his client suffered significant material damage, as he was unable to work while in prison. The document further reinforces the vulnerability in which Pablo’s family was exposedas they did not receive confinement assistance and were deprived of their main income.
In an interview with CNN BrazilPablo Santos Silva, prison victim, reported that he experienced very difficult times inside the prison. “I was unjustly imprisoned for eight months, without knowing when I would return home. Freedom is priceless,” he said.
Compensation must be paid by the State and cover all losses caused by unjust imprisonment, including material, moral and labor losses.
I’m very happy that it worked out and that justice was done, thank God! It was a very delicate case, which left me with horrible images from inside… of seeing the suffering that is everyday life, of seeing your mother on a visiting day going through all the humiliation.
Furthermore, Pablo reported that he was fired from work because of what happened. The young man was a forklift operator and stated that, with the compensation money, intend to invest in professional training again.
Unanimously, the Court of Justice recognized that Pablo did not commit the crime and that his alibi was positively proven. The evidence included camera records, proof of financial transfer (PIX) — attached by the report above — carried out in a different location at the time of the crime, geolocated photographs and oral evidence.
The sentence also pointed out that there was not even a flagrant situation that would authorize the defendant to be taken to the police station, since Pablo was arrested at 00:00 and the crime was committed around 19:00.
Furthermore, the Court also understood the absolute absence of stolen goods or instruments of crime in their possession, as during the arrest, nothing was found with the victim. According to the TJSP, the State responsibility emerges under the terms of art. 37, §6, of the Federal Constitution, in objective modalitydue to the concerted actions of its agents.
It was determined, based on the aforementioned grounds, the payment of compensation for moral and material damagestotaling more than R$57 thousand, updated and plus interest at the Selic rate from the date of the decision.
Positioning of the State of São Paulo
A CNN Brazil asked for a position from the State of São Paulo regarding the case and the actions that resulted in Pablo’s arrest. In response to the report, the State Attorney General’s Office reported that has not yet been notified of the decision.
