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(41 s| 325-97 1 4 or 325-9907
Report on Allegat¡ons of Torture in Brazil AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
the bulk ol an intensive and violalioni of the IJniversal study has been submilted to Brazil, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Brazilian.Ambassador to,Great Britain, the Secretary General of the lJnited Nations, and- America pepartment of the National 'Coun-ciljointly with the Latin of Churches.of Christ in the IJ,S.A' and the Division for Latin Am}rica ol the IJnited States Cotholic Conference-to the Human Rights Commission of the Organizatíon of American States. It is being senl to all Llnited Slates senators and congTessmen, and lo a hundred and thirty'two United Nations delegalions. Amnesty Inlernationol is an independenl, non' material. sectãrían, and non'governmenlal organizalion, with in- corroborated by supportive London and U'S' national lernational headquarters in perpetrators of ill treatment in New York. has consultalive stalus with the The names of victims and headquarlers It were so numercus that it IJnited Nations, UNESCO, and the Council of Eurqpe. On submitted to Amnesty lnternational to summarize the bulk of the material in the form Seprember 5, 1972, the first part oÍ this report, which includes was decided the nomes of 1,081 atteged victims ol torture in Brazil, was released. The second part, which appeored shortly thereafter, conlains the names ol alleged lorlurers (see foreword by Sean MacBríde). In his foreword, Mr. MacBride inviles a response the Drazilian governmen!' In Drazil, the only responses lo lrom entry in the two dale hove been repealed verbøl attacks against Amnesty In' reported as responsible for ill treatment' Each congruity of ternational and o new press law forbidding the mention of ajpendices is crosvreferenced to indicate the Am nest y's name'-The Editor' multiple in formation sources. The preænt report, necessarily limited and incomplete, deals Foreword with ihe period from December t 3, 1968 to July 15' 1972. Although Brazil has not permitted an independent body of The Amnesty lnternationat inquiry into allegations of torture observers to enter the country to investigate such charges, we in Brazil was carried out in April and May oî 1972. As Brazil feel that such precise and specific accusations have been made has consistently refused to allow repreæntatives of that it is diflicult to discount thpii substance. We ask, of American States ian government resPond to the very he{p, and that an indePendent permitted to enter Brazil in order to î*'i#f;:i'i::i - North America. A striction, accusations of serious and of the Universal representative of Amnesty International has carefully 9,18, l9 Human Rights. considered available documents in an effort to choos only the Declaration of most soundly based allegations forinclusion in this report. Sean MacBride Chairman received no cooperation from the As the Amnesty inquiry Executive Committee sources of information were necessarily International authorities, its -Amnesty lnternational onesided. Evaluation of the information received was thus
1 interest for mcnrhcts of the inte¡national conlntttnily to be given access to mattcrs conoerncd with tsraz-il's internal Background ir.i.di.tinn, it would turn to the United Nations or the Organiz.ation of Âmcrican States." ln fact, tþc Intcr-American to the Report Commission on [lt¡rnan Rights of the Organization of Ame¡ican States askcd permission in 1970 lo investigate allcgations ol torturc in Brazil ín lot'rt, but thc requcst was tn March of 19 ti refu,vr¿. Tho Br¿zilian governnrcnt clitl say at that tinlc, sourues, botlt howcver, that it would not ignorc roqLlcsts for infornlation, Â nrrrcsty Int e 7' or t and sulrseqtrently sullmittctl a dossicr to thc lntcr'Amcricun London in Âlic¡ exrmination of this dossicr, along with tltc cnstting discussion, Amncsty's reprcsentatives Commissiorl. t)uring othor subnlissions on the subject, thc comlnission stated, af ter rrn intlepcntlent mission to Brazil could serve to suggostc(l thll 28th session held rln May l-5 of this year, that "because of itbrold if thc chargcs werc proved to bc its irripr.rv. Iìruzil's irttage difficulties that have hindered examination of this case, it rvas r.rnwilling to commit itself to thc inriccuratc.'l'hc crnbassy possiblc to otrtain absolutely conclusive proof of trut tlitl protnisc to ilrvcstigate a number of has not been such u nrissittn, the or untruth of the acts rcported in the clcnunciations' prisoncrs wlttl wcre thought to have been freed. tiuth cast's ol Llowevêr, the cvidcnce collcctetl in this casc leads lo the suoh pcrsons was supplicd to them, the Although u list of pcrsuasive. presuntption that in Brazil serious cases ol torturc, prt>rnise rl infornratìttn w¿rs ncver rece ivctl. abusc, ancl Inaltreatment havc occurrcd to persons of both sexes while thcy wcre dcprivcd of thcir litrerty." On Âpril 29, 1970, Arrtncsty Internationa'l sub¡nitted cxtracts received up to that clate -as wcll asa list of fr.,m ìllc ntittcri¡l 'I'he commission further recomllrcndetl that thc govornlnent tortttrcrs antl thc natncs
After further approaches by Amncsty lnte¡national, including a joint appeal for a mission of inquiry with 14 other human rights organizations (Oommission of the Churches on Study of International Affairs, Catholic International Union of Socia.l Scrvicc, Committee on Socicty, Developmcnt and Peacc Iægislation Since 1964 f SODEPAXI, Conlcdcration Mondiale, and others), the Brazilian ambassador to Lontlon reiterated in a letter dated June 16, l9'll that this position remain unchanged. ln his The doctrine of national securitY lettcr, he stated that "the Brazilian government has a deep and abiding respcct for human rights, and is guided in its actions The present Brazilian government has elaborated a "doctrine by its own domestic legislation and by the international on the following fundamental The government of nätional security" based conventions to which it is signatory." thc division of the world into two maintai¡ that it was opposcd to the us€ of theoretical concepts: continued to with Bra'zil accepting the role of a and that when torture occurred, it was only in isolated antagonistic bloci torturc, the United States of America within or controllable by the central "priJileged satcllite" of instances, and was not condoned Christian" bloc; a non-competitive uuthoritics. the. "democratic and economy with ¡elation to the U.S.; the sacrifice of a part of favor of an interdependence amhassador's letter stated that "in thc cvent of the the national sovereignty i¡ Thc states in an effort to attain governmcnt feeling that at any time it would be in the national between the different American ii:, e il c()rnrìì()lì objcctivcs; thc rnttnopoly of power in the South Arnerica¡r suhcontinent try Brazil; and the strugglo against Historical Note conlrnurtisnl and lgainst all socialist icleologies, including those which arisc rvitlrin thc church. on Br azil State organs
'fo bccn rìecessary for thc structure of achicvc thcse aints it has Brazil covers about half the area of South Anlcrica: it is as following ways: Braz-il to chlnge in the large as the LJnited States minus Alaska. Ninety-thrcc rnillion people live in the country, a figure exceeded by only seven pou)cr. atltlition to thc gl: neral staff of the I. ]'.'rL't:utit'e ln large lnajority of the population is the armed forces, the other countries. The arnrotl fr'¡rces, the high command of oconomic rlevelopment lrave been civilian personnel' and an Catholic. Industrial and administrative department of fcw large cities, creating a situation of gcneral consultation, the Office,of the Presidcnt concentrated in a organ of tremendous inequalities between various regions and sectors of the Rcpublic is assistcd by two now orgâns: the Council of of the population, Nation¡rl Sccurity tCSNl, and the National Information Service SNll (Dccrco-L.rrv 200/67). 'fhc gencral seoretary of the CSN f was settled by Portuguese colonists in the (l)ecrcc-[.rw 348/68) nas the functions of a ptime minister. The oountry sixteenth century; inrìependence was declared in 1822. Thc was ruled by an empcror for the next'17 years, then, 2. Legislative power. The CSN has reduced the number of country a republic. Until tlìe dictatorship of Gctulio palties represented to two and the law of sublegandas has in 1889, it became Vargas, beginning in 1937, the country was organizcd mainly established the suprcmacy of the pro-governmental party. The a collection of disti¡ct regions governed by local political functions of the legislative have been reduced to a minimum; as bossês with state militias at their command. No true systern of in fact, the laws now in force have not been formulated, for national politics existed. the most part, by the legislative body. Getulio Vargas, "F-ather of the New Brazil," sougllt to rectify 3. Judiciul ¡tttwL'r, Thcjudiciary supervisos and controls the crcating a strong central governrnent and a actions detcrnrinerd by thc CSN. The military tribunal has this situation by political institutions strong enough to unify the jurisdiction over all citizens suspected of activities against the system of developed a co¡gless, which functioned national sccur.ity. Consequently, the Suprcme Federal Court is huge country. Ile adequately, a well-organized judicial system, and a powerful the final authority. This function is performed by the CSN not government bureauct'acy. The politioal system, which existed thc SNl, who dircct police and judicial activities related to and Brazil from Vargas's tintc until the military takeover in the national security. i¡ 1964, is usually describecl as a "corporate" systenl; it was based on the incorporation of inte¡est groups into national Legíslation since 1964 political groups beforc they could become too powerful. present time can be Thc severo repression in B¡azil at the The army, always a powerful force in Brazilian politics, ousted studied in a number of ways. But, in orde¡ to understand the Vargas fiom his position as dictator in 1945. The presidents situation fully, it is also necessary to have some idea of the who followed were faced with increasingly complex problems lcgal framewo¡k,that is,of the laws on which the government in thc social, economic, and political spheres, but did not has basedits actions in order to maintain some appearance of attempt radical reforrn, Joao Coulart, elected in 1961, did legality in the eyes of the world" For example, it is necessary attempt snch change, but dismay over the deteriorating to consider the texts of the laws, as well as the procedure economic and political situation in Brazil, combined with the according to which cases are to be judged before the military belief that civilians were unable to govern the country tribunals; procedures which are, in fact, never adhered effectively, prompted the'army [o stage a coup on March 31, for to-thousands of political prisoners have been awaiting trial 1964. Since then, the country has been ruled by a military more than three ycars, government, under the leadership of Presidents Castello Branco and Costa e Silva up to 1968, and then following the "coup within a coup," which took place in that year, under A. THE LAWS the present President, General Garrastazu Medici.
Since the 1964 coup, the military government hâs issued a decree-laws to broaden its powers, justifying such 1. The laws of "national securitY" number of acts as severe censorship and other curtailments of civil in a war against Since the coup d'etat of Ma¡ch 3t'' 1964, four laws of liberties by maintaining that Brazil is engaged has been urban guerrilla "national security" have been passed in succession: subversive gfoups. Clearly, there activity in recent years, but the nume¡ous arrests of priests, journalists, and others, who are feared fo¡ Law 1802 alreadY in force in 1964 nuns, professors, repression has been di¡ected I)ecree 314 of 1967 their li-be¡al ideas, indicates that Decree 510 of Ma¡ch, 1969 not only at miLitants. Decree-Law 898 of September, 1969. Illegal right-wing groups have ,been active as well, particularly the notorious "Death Squads," groups of off-duty policemen thei¡ A simple study of these fou¡ laws reveals the escalation in who capture persons they consider to be criminals and dispose severiiy. A study of pdlice repression will show us, at the same of them. The Death Squads are discussed in rnore detail legal time, a parallel development i¡ two sorts of violence: elsewhere in this report. violence and police violence. 3 I
Law 1802 gave quite sirnply a list of orimes against the state pronounced, worldwide protcsts havo been expresscd. Thus, punishments (Article l:"The c¡imes the first death scntcnce, passód in March ol l9'l l, against a antl the corresponding 'Icodornir<¡ tlcfined antl ptrnislted in the articles of this law arc considered young man l9 years olcl, Romciro dos Santos, was ( pcnalty had as crinles against the stateantl thc political andsocial order"). cornmuted [o onq r¡f life imprisonrnent this , and was also introducetl by I Thus, we see that Law I802 was conccrned stricto.çe¡lsu with previously not existed, cither, crirncs aglinst the stttc. Decree-Law 898). ln Novcmber of l9'7 I , three new death I scntenccs wcrc pronounccd. The condemncd rverc: Âriston de Dcrcrce 314: For the first time, we find a dcfinition of the Olivcira Luccna, Diogenes Sobrosa de Sousa, and Gilberto F'aria I 'Ihcsc in Junc l9l2.There I conccpt of "national security," "Natio¡al security gu¿rantees [.ima. sentences werc contmuted of is some rcason to believe that irternational opinion may have I thc realization of national objectives against all opposition, I force been influcntial in this dec.ision, Nonethclcss, the condemned ! whether intcrnal or extornal." This law, which came into { three years after the coup d'etat, clearly showed that the men still risk the danger of being killed dur.ing "an escape with the authorities," or ! government neccled a legal instrument of repression stronger attempt," or during "a confrontation than the previous law in order to protect its objectives, that is, perhaps they will be reported as having committed I the variety of motives which engendered the coup d'etat, This suicide although this version of events frequcntly given by the oorrcsponded first student police deceives no one. I in cipient severity to the demonstrations and the first attempts at trade union I organization rnd strike action. In addition to the laws of national security, other laws, decrees, and institutional acts have been prornuìgated. They , ln this way, the field of proscribed activities was considerably are too numerous for us to c.ite them all. However, we must widened: thus, alleged abuses of the press- which had refer to Decree-Law 4'1'7 datine from January of 1970, dealing I , prcviously been judged by common-law courts we¡e denoted with the universities. Unde¡ the te¡ms <¡f this decree-law, i as political orimes; sirnilarly, strikes, forbitlden throughout the importânt polioe powers are given to heads of faculties who national territory. werc also defined as political crimes, can exclude a professor from teaching for five years, and a I student from studying for three years, for so-called ll activities carried out within, or even outside, the t Howevcr, the most disturbing aspects of this law a¡e evident in "subversive" r1 'Ihis decision is in no way subject to an inquiry by fl Articles I and 48.'Article I says that "all entities, corporate o¡ university. the police authorities or to any action or sanction on the part ii individual, are responsible for the national security." And judiciary. rl Article 48 declares that "any person involved in a political trial of the ìt will lose his post (both in the private and public sector) until We should also mention Institutional Act No. 13, which has I he has been acquitted." Thus, an eoonomic sanction is imposed before guilt or innocence has been establjshed. established banishment as a penalty (such a penalty is ii fo¡bidden in the Unive¡sal Declaration of Iluman Rights), and Several months later, the measures of control set out in Decree Decree 69.534, which authorizes the President of the Repuhlic promulgate "secret decrees." i' 314 were no longer considered adequate. to
Thus, on December 13, 1968, the Presidcnt of the Republic, 2. Banishment Marechal Costa e Silva, signed Institutional Act No. 5, a No, authorizing discre t ionary act which adjourned Congress for an On September 5, 1969, Institutional Act I indeterminate period, suspended habeas corpus for political banishment, was signed. The text is as follows: ir crirnes, suspended the rights of the individual, and gave full powers to the president. This act which is still in force-was accompanied by a list of the names of thousands of citizens The Ministers of State for the Navy, thc Army, and whose civil and political rights were to be ¡evoked. Many the Air Force, in the exe¡cise of the duties assigned to intellectuals, considered to be "dangerous," were thus them by Article I of Institutional Act No. l2 of chairs remained August 31, 1969, have decided: lt cassados; consequently, many university i unoccupied and many university courses could not be given because of the shortage of professors. A rticle 1. The power of the Executive may be I employed, at the suggestion of the Ministers of State Narry, the Army, and the Air Force, I Several months later, in Ma¡ch of 1969, Dec¡ee 314 was in for Justice, the turn modified and Decree 510 was promulgated. This decree to banish any Brazilian found to be undesirable, d increased the penalties and added to the already existing list of harmful, or dangerous to the national security from political c¡imes others which had previously been dealt with the national territory. The proceedings against the unde.r common law. Even holdups became political crimes. banished person, as well as the enforcement of the ,l passed against him, are suspended for the ii sentence í But the situation worsened, and, in this "spiral of violence" duration of the period of banishment. Likewise, there (so defined byArchbishopHelder Camara), in September will be no prescribing of the trial or the passing of well ( of the same year, the fourth law of national security was sentence, promulgated. This measure, Decree-l:w 898, which is still in force, modifies Decree 510 and re-introduces in Brazil the ArtiÒle 2. A,ny actions undertaken in conformity with death penalty for political crimes, although not for this act and the complementary acts arising from it, commonlaw c¡imes. The death sentence had been abolished in as well as the consequences thereof, are not subject to 1822 on the occasion of the nation's independence, the I 5Oth inquiry or judicial appeal. anniversary of which is presently being celebrated. Artícle -i. This institutional act becomes operative The death sentence is difficult to impose f¡om the political from the present day and abrogates any contrary point of view since each time such a sentence has been provisions.
li 4
I ('omplcmcntary Act No. ó4 was signed irnrnediately af terward, banishing the first l5 Brazilians fro.m their country contrary Institutional Act No. 5 to all charters and declarations signcd by Brazil. Article l. The C onstitrrtion of January 24, 1967 and the Several days later, the new Constitution- in fo¡ce since State Constitution with the manifest modifications of this Octobcr 30, 1969 revoking all the foutrdations on which had i¡rstitutional act are maintained in force. been based tho fight for intlividual liberty, legalized the arbitrary powcr of th0 Executive on I judigial level. Àrticlc 53, Article 2. T'he President of the Republic is authorized to Paragraph I I of the Constitt¡tion states: dccree the ¡ecess of the National Congress, of the legislative asscmblies, and of the rnunicipal governments by a In aecortlance with the law, the dr:ath sentence, life complementary act, with or without martial law; they will imprisonrnent, banishment, or confiscation oi goods cnter into function again only when they will be convocated cannot bc applied except in cases of a foreign war or by the President of the Republic. an internal and psychological, revolutionary' ot suhversivc strugglc. While the parliamentary recess is decreed, the Executive Power is authorized to legislate in all subjects specified i¡ the laws of Inunicipalities. Thus, the initial effects of banishment wcre felt, and soon constitutions or the organic the thcrcuftcr I 30 Braz-ilian citizons weic deprivcd of the right to 'the President the Republic, is in the leave lnd return to thcir country frccly. Articte 3. of if it interest of the nation, can decree intervention in the states and specified in the Banishrnent rmounts to "civil dcath." According to thc pcnal municipalities without the limitations code for colnlnon-lltrv crimcs, clcath is thc only circumstance Con stitu tion. which c¡n intcrrupt a pcnal hearing; whilc the'trial of a President of banishcd pcrson is suspcntlctl it,rcontinucs for the others Article 4. In prcscrvation of the revolution, the having consulted with the Council of ¿rccusccl in [hc salnc inclictment. Consequcntly, thc banished the Republic, after antl without the limitations specified in the person cannot procluce lrny cviclence in his favor during a National Security to suspend the political rights which continues without him. llve n though sentence is Constitution, will bc authorized Èearing years pronouncocl against him, all the evidcnce for the of any citiz-en for a term of ten and make void elective not politicrl pro*:cut.ion will bc produced. nlandatr's. suspension of political rights bascd on this act In thc cyos of the Brazili¡n administration, his wife is Ar!icle 5. The means si m ultan e'ou sly : considercd a "widow": shc may collcct a pr:nsion;sho will be and will take the father's regarded as thc "hea Decree 69.534 dirl not conlorm to any of thc constitutional norms, as it was neither sent to the National Congress nor puULittt"¿ in the official journal so that the public could be informed of its content. 2. "Police inquirY": survo¡llance We havc scen that surveillance exists throughout the pcriod of "police investigation." lt should be emphasized that this phase oi the proceedings exists only for political trials. In common-iaw trials, surveillancc cannot last for morc than three days (^rticle 2l of the Penal Codc). B. THE PROCEDURE OF POLITICAL TRIALS 'I'he second phase is thc "police inquiry" propcr (inqucrilo or I.P.M,), whjch is officially thc prelinrinary It is useful to remember that the legal procedure is never policial mílitar, stage of the proceodings. adhered to since there are thousands of political prisoners in investigation Brazil who have been awaiting trial for almost three years. Once thc phase of "police investigations" is completcd, and prisoner has confesscd or admitted thc charges We can examine, from the procedural point of view, three after the i against him, he leaves the interrogation center for the different phases: the "police investigations" stage; the "police brought tl Political and Social Orderl' DOPS is a inquiry" prope¡; and the "judicial hearings." DOPS IDepartment of commissariat, or central police station, under the Department Public Safety for each state, specializing in political These three phase's are provided for in the new Code of for i' (There are thus 22 DOPS, which correspond to the Military Penal Procedure, in force since January I 1970. This inquiries. I ' 22 states.) In view of the fact that no inquiry goes to the lr code, which revokes the former "Code of Military Justice" of ! without' statement having been signed by the December 2, 1938, is the expression of the desideratum of auditoria a accused, difficult for the Secretary of Public Safety to repression in Brazil: ", . . it is necessary to change the Code of it is going on in DOPS; it is difficult for him to deny Military Justice in order to conform to new requirements of deny what is prisoners who refuse to sign thei¡ statements are the legal and political order. , . the new code was also that the for further torture. intended to translate traditional military customs and usages returned into definite regulations. Thus, th¡oughout the police Penal P¡ocedure states: investigation and the judicial hearing until the passing of Article 7l of the Code of Military person may hold the prisoner sentenóe, these principles are meticulously carried out." "The responsible for the inquiry (Explanation of objectives which precedes the Code of incommunicado for th¡ee days at the most, if the latter has accordance with thc law." Mititary Penal Procedure.) been arrested in 6 On the othcr hand, in contradictibn to this lcgal stipulation, before a milit:rry tribun¿I. The country is dividcd into I I Article l6 states that the entire "inquiry is secret but the sections for the purposes of administcring military justice person carrying out the inquiry m4y allow the defense lawyer (t:otrx ricuo jutlical milítar), and each section has at least two to be informed." auditorías militures (military courts). In Rio de Janeiro, thcre arc three military courts superviscd by the arrny, two by the However, despite the express guarântees given in the statute of navy, and two by the air force. ln Sao Paulo, the¡e a¡c two the Order of Lawycrs, the person responsiblc for the inquiry army courls and one air forcc cottrt.'fhus, throughout Brazil, never allows the lawyer to learn of 'the inquiry or to have the there arc more than 20 courts of this sort which, since l9ó8, slightest contact with his client (in order to preserve have heard, on an average, 70 to I 00 political cases a year. "secrecy"); thus, "incommunicability" ii unlimited and we Trials involving only one defendant are infrequent; it is therefore have cascs of numerous prisoners held likewise rare to see a case heing brought to a definitive close. incommunicado for several months. The military tribunal is made up of five iudges: four military, The clear stipulations of the statute of the O¡der ol Lawyers high-ranking officers, and one professionally qualified civilian of Brazil, confirmed by Article 75 of the Code of Military judge. Thc outcome of most cases is cletermined by the latter, Pcnal Procedure ("the lawyer will have the rights guarantced since ihe nrilitary judges, who do not have law tlcgroes, do not him in the statute of the Ordor of Lawyers"), provides that vote during the trial except when a dctention or release order "lawyers may communicate in person and in private with their has been requested and when the verdict is pronounced. The clients, even if the latter a¡e dctained in ser.:ret in a civil or prosecutor and the clerk of the court are alsc.¡ civilians, as are military police barracks" (Article 89, Paragraph lIl, of Law the court-appointed lawyers. 4215 of April 27, I 963). 'I'he appeal court, or higher military tribunal, consists of five However, in practice, the autho¡ities not only rcfuse to give civilian magistra tcs and ten military goncrals, thc latter such permission, but, in many cases, they even go so far as to representing the three armetl services, deny for wceks,or even months,that the person in quostion is unde¡ ar¡est. When the case reaches one of the oourts of thc military tribunal, the lawyer may finally be officially informed and can Aot No. 5 of Decembor 13, 1968 abolished thcn request permission to meet his client lor the first timc. habeas corpus and allowed at the same time a wide variety of irregularities, of both a police and a judicial naturc, in Article 390 of the Code of Milìtary Penal Procedure provides contradiction to the terms of the law and, in particular, to the that if the accused is under arrest, the hearing bcfore the time lirnits impose d by the law. As we have notcd, a lawyer nrilitary tribunal should be completed within 50 days of the has no legal recourse at all against such abuses. judge's tlecision, based on the evidenr:e brought beforo him by the prosccutor, to procecd with the charges. The prosccutor judgc The inquerito policial militar is, according to Article 9 of the has five days to present his indictment and the then has Code of Military Penal Procedure, a "provisional hearing," the 1.5 days to decide whethcr or not thc¡e are grounds to ilim of which is to set out the facts necessary in order to lnake continuc the prosecution (Articlc 79 of thc Corlc of Military a decision as to whether or not to initiate a criminal action' Penal Procedure), This decision is the responsibility of the public prosecutor, Let us not forget, however, that it is on the facts set out during the Thus, if one adds up the time allowed under Artioles 79 and provisional hearing that the tribunal will base its final verdict, 390, the trial, including the hearing bclore the military The interrogations carried out during the "police tribunal, shoulrl be completed within'70 days at the investigation" are repeated at DOPS since we find ou¡selves maximunr, However, we know of hundreds of prisoners who in the i¡quií, phase proper. The prosecution witnesses are have been awaiting trial for more than three years ¿nd who heard and the evidence for the prosecution is presented. may continue to wait some months. We have already mentioned that, according to A¡ticle 20 of The trial itself, in ìts judiciary hearings stage, has four sessions the Code of MiLitary Penal Procedure, the inquiry should be opcn to the public: .interrogation of the accused, prosecution completed within 20 days if the accused is under arrest. It has witnesses' testimony, defense witnesses' testimony, and the also stated that, during this entie period, the prisoner remains verdict. Reportedly,.a list is drawn up every day of those who completefy in,:ommunicado with nò contact *ith his láwyer or enter the building where the auditorias militarei have their family. Finally, when the inquþ is brought to a close, after all hearings, and as this list is sent to the political police, only' of the accused have signed their depositions, and the evidence close relatives and lawyers take the risk of being seen at these fo¡ the prosecution is prepared, the prisoner leaves the police sesslons. barracks and is transferred to one of the prisons in the city' Some prisoners, however, remain in the military barracks, or even at the po.lice station, to facilitate further The legal irregularities do not consist solely in non-adherence interrogations-if this proves necessaryJf we turn once more to the time limits set down by law. In the majority of cases, to the time limits already cited in Articles l8 (duration of the civilian judge or the military judges exert strong pressure "police investigations") and 20 (duration of the inqui¡y), the on the prosecution witnesses. Frequently, prÓsecution prisoner remains at least 70 days at the police station without witnesses are police employees; they may even have tortured any contact with people outside whatever. But let us reiterate the accused. Such witnesses appear before the Council of that in fact these time limits are never respected. Justice to state that the defendant has signed his statement of his own free will, and without being "influenced." Lawyers 3. The "ludicial hearingl' rarely call any longer on defense witnesses, since, frequently, these witnesses are later called to the police station to explain The "judicial hearing" is the hearing before a judge, or rather, their sympathy for the accused. 7 Report of Inquiry Into Allegations of Torture Purpose of the inquiry The documents completing the section are as follows: The purpose of the inquiry was to examine the allegations of . Jean Marc von der Weid's signed and dated document is tortu¡e made by political prisoners arrested under the laws of authenticated by a commissioner for oaths, Mr, T. M. national security. Simon. Given the lack of cooperation on the part of the Brazilian . The deposition relating to the murder of Odijas Carvalho authorities, only the prisoners' version of the facts could be de Souza is dated, signed by Maria Yvonne de Souza studied. In addition, as it was impossible to visit the prisons in Loureûo, witnessed by Lylia Da Silva Guedes, and Brazil, the inquiry was held for the most part with former authenticated by the clerk of the court, Arnaldo Maciel of prisoners who have left Brazil; some cases, of people who are Recife. INot included in IDOC edition.l still in prison and whose signed depositions were forwarded to Amnesty International, have also been included. -. A letter addressed by Carlos Albe¡to Soares' mother to ' the legislative assembly of the state of Pe¡nambuco. It is The documents selected cove¡ the period from March2, 1969 also dated and signed. INot included in IDOC edition.l to June 14, l9'72. . A letter f¡om Mr. A. Campos to theVatican,which is also Method employed dated and signed. Between March I I and May 30, 1972, a representative of the All of these documents, are descriptive accounts of French section of Amnesty International consulted the interrogations and detention conditions. Some additional archives maintained in . Europe by various international documents complete the evidence. organizations and met with former political prisoners living abroad. Several organizations showed themselves willing to put H¡story of the cases at Amnesty International's disposal signed depositions sent from B¡azil by political prisoners; also, a certain numbe¡ of Antonio Expdito Carvalho Perera former political prisoners were ready to make written depositions, l. Aged 4l; lawyer and university professor arrested in Sao Paulo. The method used by Amnesty International was the following: 2, Mr. Perera affi¡ms that he was a¡rested on March 3,1969 l. A preliminary inquiry was undertaken among political in Sao Paulo and that violence was employed during his prisoners living abroad, and a certain number of these seemed interrogation. willing to make depositions; others were afraid of reprisals, particularly against thei¡ families in Brazil. Approximately 5.0 3, M¡. Pere¡a testifies that he was tortured throughout the questionnaires were issued. Of the duly completed documents month of March in the bar¡acks of the military police, rua returned (questions were limited to essential information), Tutoia, near rua Abilio Soares, and on the thi¡d floor of the Amnesty chose nine of the depositions, since these preiented DOPS headquarters in Sao Paulo, by successive teams under no risk to the persons concerned or to thei¡ families. the command of General Luiz Felipe, Captain Antonio Carlos Pivatto, and office¡s Newton Fernandes and Simonetti; these 2. Th¡ee documents belonging to Amnesty International are last two mentioned also command the unit to which the also included, along with a deposition sent to the Vatican, soldie¡ Passarinho, Sergeant Robert, and civilians Passalacqua, Choice of documents was highly selective. Out of an Guimaraes, Caetano, Parra, Corbea, and others belong. Perera overwhelming amount of material, only individual cases whose unde¡went various forms of torture: elect¡ic shocks, mainly on authenticity could not be questiohed were retained. The the neck, head, tongue, ears, vertebral column, genital areas, documents for the inquiry were dated and signed by the toes, and the soles of the feet: introduction of instruments persons concerned, in the presence of two witnesses, The into the genital areas of the body; blows to the body; other quantity of material used was therefore deliberately limited, forms of ill treatment; physical and psychological tortùre to but this selection thus makes it all the more difficult to refute third parties: relatives, friends, and clients. its authenticity. 4. Mr. Perera gave as witnesses to this torture: Onofre Pinto Description of the documents (now living in Cuba); and Diogene de Oliveira (now living in Cuba). ln nine cases the depositions are in the form of questionnaires signed and dated by the person conce¡ned. Questions relate to The witness affi¡ms that he was present at torture sessions at the civil status of the individual, the circumstances and the military police quarters and at the DOPS in the treatment undergone at the time of arrest, the interrogation, Ti¡adentes prison from March 3, 1969 to January 13, 197 I possible witnesses, conditions of detention, and medical, legal, (the date on which he was ¡eleased). Torture was carried out by and religious facilities. These depositions were drawn up after different units, commanded usually by the ar¡ny. It consisted the individuals concerned had left Brazil. They were all signed of electric shocks, beatings, psychological torture, and torture in the presence of two witnesses. inflicted on thi¡d parties. I kept in 5. He affirms that he was brought on March 3, 1969 tothe interrogation centers i May of' 1970' llc was military police quartcrs and from there to the DOPS on solitary confincrnent. : he was given a radiography session of March 18, l9(r9. Hc was returnod to thc military policc on cxamination to check I condition after I jackct was put on hirlì Marcll 20 and was then brought to Presidio'I'iradcntcs on July "pau de arara" at the DOPS. A strait wounds. blecding as a 10, 1969. and he was givcn injeetions, and hìs result of thc torturc he hacl undcrgone, weru trcatcd. His interrogation took place in thc military police barracks, in receivcd any visits or the DOI'S, and at thc military tribunal beforc Judgc Nclson llc wls kept incontrtlttnicado and never da Silva (ìuinlaraes. legal assistancc ftotrl his lawycr. by his brother-inlaw the llc reueived no nredical aid; the only assistance availablc was F'amily visits: he was visited once Ininutcs. dispensed by doctors who wcre fellow prisoncrs, such as f)r. intcrrogation room; this visit, lasted three Antonio Carlos Madeira. Ìle received no rcligious care. He did not receive any visit from his lawyer during the perìod of police interrogation and police inquiry, that is, from March Lucio Flavio lJchoa Regueira 3, 1969 until July 10, 1969, but only after he was transferred journalist; dc to the Tiradentes prison, afte¡ the statc of l. l? ycars oltll lawyor ancl living in Rio "incommunicability" had been lifted, on July 10, 1969 Janôiro at thc tinle of his ar¡cst. 21, He reccivcd no visits from members of his family until July 10. 2. Mr. Regueira states tlìal lrc was arrestcd on April (lenter for lntcrnal Thcse visits were always in public and had to bc authoriz.cd l97O in Rio de Jrrnciro by thc Operations his beforehand hy Judge Nelson da Silva Guilnaraes. Defr:nsc ICODIì an<.1 that torturc was cnrployt:d during in te rrogat io n. He receivcd no religious attention. There were, howr:ver, and still are. priests in prison serving sentences. He said that his 3. llr: slatcs that hc was lortured frorn Apriì 2l-15, 1970 at attempts to havc an authorization for religious facilities were thc barraoks ot thr: nrilitary police, rua Bar¡o do Mosquita, by (Japtain all rcfused anil that, in addition, Ivlasses held in the cells werc Maj or Goures Carneiro, Ziembinsk.i, Licutenants regarded as "political meetings." Volio, Timote<¡, and Costa l,irna. 6. He was brought for the first ti¡nc beforo the judgc of the Regueira statcs that hc underwcnl various forms of torture: military tribunal cleven months after his arrest, in Fe bruary of elcctric shocks to ths cyss. tnoutlt, gcnital at'cas, and anus; 1970. llc was not tried but was release d along with a group of introduction of a stick in thc anus, inlnrcrsion in watcr to the others. point of near drorvning; "pau de arara"; blows all over the body; injcction of "trutlr sorunl," Ladislas Dowbor ll-he torture s wcrc not urrd în isolstion l¡ut in combination. l. Aged 3 I ; economist arrested in Sao Paulo. Fronl thc sccond tlay onwards, he was tortured with electric 2. Mr. Dowbor swears that he was a¡rcsted' on Àpril 2 l, shocks and beatings to the body, and throughout his period of l9?0 in Sao Paulo by the Bandeirantes Operation. During his i m p risonrncnt was psychologìcally tortured: simulated interrogation, violence was employed exeiutions, constant threâts of physical torture, and so forth. Lle was awakened at all hours of the níght, a black hood was to a place where 3. llc affirrns that torture was inflicted on him from April placed over his head, and he was brought the nine 2l l97O at the Bandeirantcs Oporation, at the DOPS in Sao èxecutions werc simulated. This last:d throughout , way, thoy tried to get him to Paulo-- that is to say rua Tutoia ¿nd Praca GeneralOsorio -by months of detention, In this places, and Colonel Waldir Coelho of CENIMAR, body of thc Second reveal information about individuals and meeting psychologically by keeping him in a Army, by the Bandeirantes Operation, and by the Death tried to weakcn hirn fear. Squad in Sao Paulo. constant state of gives his torture: Sonia He affirms having undergone the following tortures: "pau de 4. Mr. Regueira as witnesscs to arara" (Brazilian torture technique; see letter from Marcos Regina Yessim Ranros; Samuel Aarao Reis; and C'id de Queiros Pena de Arruda, page 25; see also pages 3-4 of this issuc). Benjamin. of 4. Mr. Dowbor cites the following witnesses to his torture: He affi¡ms that he undeiwent tortu¡e throughout his time Maria do Carmo Brito: Liszt Benjamin Viei¡a; and Betty detention. Açcording to Mr. Regueira, the terriblc atmosphere prisoners are forced Chacha movicz.. in Brazilian prisons is due to the fact that to be present while fcllow prisoners are tortured. He states that he witnessed torture being inflicted by Colonel Waldi¡ Coelho of OBIopcracao Bandeirontesl ,l¡y.members Throughout his imprisonment, at the military police barracks, of CODI, and of DOPS in Sao Paulo, and of the Death he says he constantly saw the very people who had tortured Squad, in September of 1968 and from April to May of 1970, him torturing others. He says, for example, that he had been both in the OBAN Isame as OBl, and DOPS headquarters' greatly ìlisturbed at witnesing the tortu¡e of Ca¡los Edua¡do This consisted of: "pau de ara¡a"i the electrib chair; electric Fayal de Lira. In addition to better known methods of torture shocks. (near-drôwning, electric shocks, "pau de arata"), Fayal de Lira also underwent the "mad dentist" torture, a name given to this 5, He was not taken to prison but was simply interrogated in particular method of brutality by the torturers themselves. lo 'l'his consists of keeping tl.re mouth open forcibly with an 7. When he was questioned by the naval court in Rio de instrunront whilr.: Fayal was attached to a "dragon chair," his Janeiro, Mr. Regueria said that the army officers who torturcrs nìcânwlÌilc using a dentist's driìl and elcotrio shock accompanied him occupied the hall with machine guns and the trcatnrent on hirn. Mr. Regueira says that lie saw the drill public was not allowed to be present during his testimony break three of his companion's teeth; but his companion, before the military court. The judge, Jacob Goldenberg, did despite thc pain and several attacks of fainting, remained everything to prevent him f¡om saying what he wanted, and strong until the end. À doctor saw hirn, revived him with an distorted his complaints of ill treatment in which hc gave the injection and intlicated that the torture.could continue. Mr, names of his torturers. Mr, Regueria said that he was once Regueira said that hc had to listen to Fayal's cries and the again tortured with electric shocks as a punishment for his torturcrs' laughter for more than an hour, and it was the most deposition and also becauæ his torture¡s wanted to know how painful session he ever witnesscd. Fle was himself linked by an he had learned their names. clectric wire to the "r.lragon chai¡" to which Fayal was attached and also rcceivcd thc elcctric shocks. He said he Vera Silva Araujo Magalhaes faintcd threc tinres. l'liis torture session took place approximately a fortnigh( af tor his arrest, F'ayal was in hjs l. Aged 24;economics student in Rio de Janeiro at the time thi¡d month of torture. of her arrest. 5. He affirms having been held rn the army prison from 2. Miss Magalhaes says she was arrested on March 6,19'lO n April 2l to June 3, l9lO, at the Regiment of Infantry School Rio de Janeiro by CODI IOperations Center for lnternal of the Vila Milita¡ from June 15, 1970 to January 8, l97 l,at f)efense- military policel and underwent much to¡ture which the DOI'S in Guanabara from June 3-15,1970, at the army left her with both legs paralyzed for some time. policc barrack s in Vila Militar fronr January 8- I I , 197 I , and at the air force hasc at (ialeao frorn January ll-14, 1971. 3. She states that she was tortured initially 20 days after her arrest since, being wounded with a bullet in the head, a During his detcntion he said hc was kept in cells where there minimum of medical attention was necessary before she was wcre no wirdows and that he had not once secn the sun. The able to undergo interrogation. cells werc very small, hut a grcat rnany prisoners were held in each one. The torturc roonìs wero painted violet and were very She states that she was tortured beginni¡g on March 20,l97O cold. 'Ihe prisoncrs werc kept naked during intcrrogation; at the army police headquarters, at the CODI headquarters, torturc was carriod out by specialized teams which worked in .rua Barao de Mesquita in the Tijuca atea of Rio de Janeiro, by relays when the sessions wcre unusually long (the shortest Major Gomes Carneiro Ziembinski, by soldiers lrelipe, Jose session lasted three hours). Alfredo Poe, Sergeant Volio, and Major F'ontenelle. She was subjected to all sorts of physical ill treatment as well as In prison, hc said that he never saw the sun, that he was unable psychological torture. Miss Magalhaes said that she remained to excrcisc, wâs not allowed to read or listen to the radio. for more than seven hours on the "pau de arara" and was given different voltages of electric shocks during this period; water He says ihat hc was visited for the fi¡st time 45 days after his was put in hcr mouth and nose; she was beaten with a arrest; visits took place bcforc policemen once a fortnight for truncheon and whip all over the body, including the genital l5 minutcs. They were not allowed during the interrogation ' phase. Key to Frequently Used Acronyms Food consisted of, in the rnorning, a glass of mate (tea) and a CENIMAR Centro lnformacoes da piece of stale trread; at lunchtime, a spoonful of beans and Marinha- lnf ormatlon Center for the rice; at suppe¡, a piece of poor quality meat and a few NavY vegetables, The prisoners assumed that these were the lcftovers coDt Centro Ae Operacoes de Defes from the offit:ers' meals. lnterna-Operations Center for lnternal Defense Regueira states that he received no mcdical attention. The doctors in the torture chambers were there to diagnose the Conselho de Seguranca resistance capacity of the victims fo¡ the succeeding session; Nacional-Council of National there was no medical attention at the end of the session or Security during the period of detention as a whole, DOPS Departmento de Ordem Politica e Social-Department ol Political and During the interrogation period, a lawyer may not see his Social Ordei client. Mr. Regueira swears that he was never allowed to speak OB Operacao Bandeirantes-Bandeirantes with a lawyer iir private. He was allowed to see him once a Operation month, but always in the prison and always in the presence of OBAN Same as OB a policernan. PE Po I icia do E xerc ito--M il itary Police No religious care was given him either during the interrogation SNI Servico Nacional de period or throughout the duration of his imprisonment. I nf o r ma coes- National I nf ormation Service 6. Mr. Regueira affi¡ms that he was brought fo¡ the fi¡st time before a judge of the military tribunal six months after he was first detained. He was not tried and was released on Jan uary 14, l9'l I . I areas, She says that as she was very weak, the docto¡ officially doctors and show great indifference and little concern for the responsible advised that the session be shortened and the pflsoners, torturers cut short the total du¡ation of the session. She was then brought to the infirmary and later to the military She says that her lawyer was Dr. Evaristo and that she was hospital. allowed to see him only with someone else present; Dr. Evaristo had great difficulty in getting permission to see Miss At the military hospital, she was once again examined; Magalhaes and was not allowed to go into the interrogation however, she was only registered as a patient on he¡ first visit room. He could not contact his client until the torture stage for attention to her head wound, ïvhile her stay in hospital was completed, Only then, with the court:s permission, can a after the torture sessions was not registered in the hospital lawyer visit his client in prison, but this is always difficult to record s. arrange. The time limits set by the law were never respected. Miss Magalhaes managed to see her lawyer while she was still in The most serious consequence of the torture undergone by hospital becausre proceedings against her we¡e in thei¡ final Miss Magalhaes was paralysis of her legs, stages. 4. Miss Magalhaes gives as witnesses to he¡ tortu¡e ai the She states that she received very brief visits from her family army police barracks at CODI in Rio Bárao de Mesquita, while in hospital but these were always in the process of CODI Tijuca, from March 26-30, l9'7O the following people: Regine officers. Neither relatives nor lawyers are allowed into Farah; Daniel Aarao Reis; Sonia Heins; Jsabel Carvalho; and interrogation rooms, In prison, visits a¡e controlled; as she was Efigenìa Imaculada. held in the military police barracks and in the hospital, visits allowed Miss Magalhaes were very irregular. In view of her She says that she witnessed the torturing of the following physical condition, the autho¡ities wished to prevent her people in the same barracks and during the same period as family from seeing her and she reports that she saw them only mentioned above: Daniel Aarao Reis; Pedro Alves; Regina three times in three months. Farah; Efigenia; and Eustaquio. She received no religious assistance. In all events, such care is They were tortured by Major Gomes Carnei¡o Ziembinski, by not generally allowed and is never permitted during the soldiers Ailton Joachim, Marco Antonio Povoreli, by Sergeant interrogation period. Andrade Oliveira, and by Captain Guimaraes. The torture consisted of electric shocks, "pau de arara," beatirgs, sexual ill 6. Miss Magalhaes såys that she was brought for the first treatment, near drowning, and sleep deprivation, The torturers time before a judge in the military tribunal afte¡ a month and forced the detainees to stay naked in a given position in a a half of detention--her t¡ial was already underway when she freezing cold place and doused them with water. After ten was arrested. But he¡ case is an except.ion: generally the hours of this one.position, without food, the "dragon chair" detai¡ed person is not brought before a judge until he has means of torture (electric chair) was employed. served approximately one year's detention, Another method of torture consisted in keeping the person She was tried and then released on June I \)7 0. hanging head downwards while being beaten and subjected to electric shocks. Fernando Paulo Nagle Gabeira Another consisted in applying hot metal plates to the legs and I, Journalist; ar¡ested in Sao Paulo. arms-this caused wounds which still have not healed, 2, Mr. Gabeira states lhat he was arrested on January 28, Among the prisoners who were particularly badly tortured, 1970 in Sao Paulo by the OB Icombined organization of the Miss Magalhaes cites the case of Daniel Aarao Reis, a friend army, the navy, the air force, and the military policel. He who was arrested at the same'time as Miss Magalhaes. His scars states that violence was used during his ínterrogation, are still visible. 3. He states that he was tortured in February of 1970 at the 5. Medical care: Miss Magalhaes states that in the military military hospital of the Second Army and at the OB by two hospital doctors gave her no medical care, contenting OB units commanded by Captains Mauricio and Albernaz. He themselves with giving sedatives which weakened her affi¡ms that he was injected with "truth serum" (pentothal) at psychologically. At the army barracks no attention at all was the hospital, and that he underwent electric shocks at the OB paid to hygiene; there were rats and mice i¡ the cells and in headq uarters. the'infi¡ma¡ies. lnterrogation took place in the torture room of the military police-this ¡oom is well kept, as it is often 4. He gives as a witness to his torture Jose Alprim F-ilho, a visited by army officers. political detainee in Presidio T'i¡adentes. Miss Magalhaes says that the food in the military police prison He says that in February he saw other people tortu¡ed at the òf 'Ti¡uca was impossible to swallow and that hygiene was OB headquarters, at the DOPS in Sao Paulo, and on Ilha das nonexistent. She states that medical attention was lacking and Flores by Ots and PE teams under the di¡ection of Captains that, in general, the doctors a¡e in attendance only to control Mauricio, Albernaz, Homero (in Sao Paulo) and Gomes the amount of torture to which a patient may be submitted o¡ Ca¡nei¡o (in Rio de Janeiro). He says that he saw various to prescribe sedatives to aid in interrogation. Medical attention methods of torture employed, for example, in the case of is only given in cases of serious or contagious illnesses, Corporal Jose Mariani the "dragon chai¡": the victim is held head downwards while the testicles are crushed. He saw several Dental treatment consists in pulling out the teeth of the cases of torture, nearly always involving electric shock prisoners to avciid further decay, Doctors are public health treatment. . t2 jn 5, Mr. Gabeira says that he was arrested after being General Osorio, and in Presidio Tiradentes, overcrowded wounded in the stomach, liver, and kidneys. He was operated unhfgienic cells where the prisoners were very badly fed. He on and cared for at the military hospital and then at the naval states that he received no medical attention during the hospital. interrogation period and received only superficial attention in Presidio Tiradentes. IIe stltes that he was imprisoned in the OB, then at the DOPS in Sao Paulo and Rio dé Janeiro, at Ilha das Flores, in He says he received no legal aid until he had been in detention the 31st police district, at the P¡esidio Policial da Penitencia five months and iould see his family only after four months' provided I-emos de Brito on Ilha G¡ande and at thè PE of the almy in detention. He says there was no religious care during 'Barao de Mesquita. the interrogation phase, and, in prison, such care as was provided was, in hìs opinion, insufficient. Mr. Gabei¡a affi¡ms that he received no legal aid until after the second month and that even then contact with his lawyer was 6. Mr, Vigevani says he was brought fo¡ the first time befo¡e difficult. a judge of the military tribunal after six months' detention, but he adds that ordinarily the detainees do not see thejudge He saitl that visits fiom his family were impossible duringthe for one or two years. interrógation stagc and that afterwards, on Ilha Grande, rules permitted oniy one visit a month. He states that he was tried and was released on February 3, 1972. He says he received no reLigious attention. 6. Mr. Gabei¡a says he was brought before a judge at the Roberto Cardoso Ferraz do Amaral military tribunal for the fi¡st time two months after the beginning of his detention and that he was not trìed. He was l. 3l years old; printer and student in Sao Paulo at the time released in June of 1970. of his arrest. 'l . Mr. Gabei¡a adds that, in his opinion, the torture to 2. Mr. Ferraz do Amaral said he was arrested on March 2, which he was submitted, a combination of physical and 1969 in Sao Paulo by the military police and says that violence psychological factors, was carried out in conformity with a wai employed during his interrogation. strict "technique." He was twice sent to hospital for treatment of his stomach wound and of a kidney hemorrhage caused by 3. Following his arrest on March 2, he says he was tortured machine gun fire. He says he was held incommunicado for 45 for a week at the military police barracks by Majors Beltrao days, without seeing his family, or his lâwyer, in a dungeon and Lameira, ' Captain Pivato, Lieutenant Agostinho, known as surdo where he was given nothing but rotting food. Sergeants Braga and Jose Robe¡to, Corporals Pascour and He says him to hemorrhage, Marco Antonio (nicknamed "Passa¡inho"-little bird), officers which in ating. In addition, he Vanderico, Newton Fernandes, Simonetti, inspectors Arruda was subje the hosPital where he Telles, Passalacqua, and others. was brou nations (Brother Tito de Alenc He says he underwent the following tortures:"pau de ara¡a"; near drowning; electric shocks to the genital areas, the anus, Tullo Vigevani the ears, and the fingers; simulated executions; and truncheon blows to the entire body. l. 29 years old; journalist; arrested in Sao Paulo. 4, Mr. Ferraz do Amaral gives as witnesse¡ to his torture: 2. Mr. Vigevani states that he was arrested on August 2, Antonio Expedito Perera; Armando Augusto Vargas Dias; 1970 in Sao Paulo (rua D. Villares, Vila Guarany) by the Antonio Ubsldino Perera; Pedro Chaves dos Santos; and military police and that violence was used during his A¡istenes Nogueira da Almeida. interrogation, He affirms that he saw the following people tortured at the between March 2-9, 3, . He states that he was tortured from August 2-2O' l97O at military police barracks, at the DOFS, the OB and at the DOPS by office¡s of the a¡med forces and 1969 and March 9 to June 17,1969; the same methods and members of the police force, Captains Albernaz' Homero, units were employed as listed above: Antonio Expedito Perera Mauricio, officer Gaeta, Corporal Roberto (all belonging to the and his wife; Antonio Ubaldino and his son-in-law; Armando OB), and by Carlinhos and others (from DOPS). Those in Vargas; Ca¡los Pitolio Eridano; Joao Leonardo; Argonauta charge were Major Waldir Coelho, Colonel Danton Confucio, Pacheco; Onofre Pinto; Diogenes Cawalho; Clemens and Ida; and General Canava¡ro, and Francisco Sales Goncalves and his wife, police He states that he was made to undergo the "pau de arara," 5, He says he was imprisoned in the military barracks electric shocks, blows from truncheons, palmatorias, and on March 2, 1969, was t¡ansferred to DOPS on March 9, cigarette burns, 1969 and was then held from lune 15, 1969 until January 14, 197 I at Presidio Ti¡adentes and Carandi¡u. At the military 4. He states that he witnessed the torture of other potice barracks he was kept incommunicado, in solitary individuals between August 2-2O, l97O at the OB, where the confinement. He underwent torture every day and received same methods were employed by the same units, and he says only two meals daily. he can give the names of people who witnessed his torture. At the DOPS he was also incommunicado but in,a cell of 5. Mr. Vigevani says he was imprisoned in rua Tutoia, Largo about 24 square meters whe¡e l0 to l2 prisoners were kept; it l3 was inrpossible to leavc the cell. Food was distributed three Iliveira; Joven Sebastiana; Joao Caldas; and Jeova de Ass.iss tinrcs a clay. Gomes, At ('arandiru he was in a cornmonJaw solitary confinement With women, elect¡ic shocks were introduced into the vagina.t. cell and reccived three meals a day. He was allowed to exercise With the men, scars from surgical operations were reopened,I, in thc opcn air fol two hours u woek, or when the warden was tubes were pushed up into the nostrils to induce suffocationn in good humor, (method of tortu¡e employed when a person is on the "pau dee arara"). There was also the "dragon chai¡" and elect¡ic shocks.i. ln Tiradentes. hc was in a commdn-law cell measuring about 40 square mcters and holding l4 to l8 prisoners; twice a week 5. Mr. tlc Alencar says he was translerrerd to Presidjoc he was allowed outside in the open air (one hour each time). Tiradentes on December 15, 1969 where conditions weree extremely bad. There is no wate¡ in the cells, the pit whichh lle says that medical care was given by fellow prisone¡s and seryed as a toilct was so blocked that the smell of excrementt not by thc prison pcrsonneli this was also true for the other was insufferablc. prisons ìn which he wa.s kept. Medical aid, nonexistent during the interrogation pha¡e, wass Mr. F'er¡az do Amaral says that he was not visited by any adrninistered very haphazardly in prison, primarily byv lawycr cluring the interrogation phase (he was held imprisoned doctors. incornmunicado frorn March 2 to July 2,1969, and the lawyer could only visit him in accordance with the prison regulations. Lawyers' vìsits we¡e strictly fo¡bidden during the interrogationn As is customary, farnily visits were forbidden during the stage. It was said at OB that it was necessary to forget "humann intcrrogation period. Onoe thc detainee was transferred to rights." In prison, visits from a lawyer were allowed once a prison, visits of two hours' duration were permitted once a week and were supervised by the wardens. From time to time, lno n th. the lawyers were rigorously searched, There were no religious faciiitios. lmprisoned priests rendered Family visits, forbidden during the interrogation stage, were) such assistance as was necessary. allowed once a week or once a fortnight in prison. (¡. Mr. Ferraz do Amaral says he was brought fo¡ the first Religious facilities, also forbidden during the period off tirne before thc judge of the military t¡ibunal one year after interrogation, were ümited in prison to a weekly Masss his arrcst-on March 2, 19'70. celeb¡ated by a Sao Paulo public forces chaplain. 1 He was released on J anuary 14, 197 l. 6, Mr. de Alenca¡ says he was brought before ajudge of thei military tribunal seven months af ter his arrest. 7, Mr. Ferraz do Amaral adds that during his 22 months' dctention, hc saw the judge only once, M¡. do Ama¡al's trial He was tried and condemned to one and a half years' has not yet taken place. Hb also states that the director of the irnprisonmentfor his participation in the Students' Congless inI Presidio Ti¡adcntes has been accused of collaboration with the Ibiuna (Sao Paulo State). death squad and that the trial is currently underway. He was released on January 14, 1972. Erother Tito de Alencar, O.P. Carlos Bernardo Vainer t, 26 years old;philosophy student in Sao Paulo at the time of his arrest. l. 24 years old;student in Rio dc Janeiro at the time of hisS arre st. 2, Brother rle Alencar says he was arrested on November 4, 1969 hy Sergio Fleury and that violence was employed during 2. Mr. Vai¡er says he was arrested on April 20, 1970 in Rio) his interrogation. de Ianei¡o by a commando unit of the lnternal Defense C'orpss f CODII. He ffiys that' violence was used during hisj 3. He says he was tortured between November 4, 1969 and interrogation. February 25-28, 19'70 at DOPS and at OB by Sergio Fleury, Raul, Captains Albernaz, Dalmo, and Ca¡linhos, He states that 3. Mr. Vainer states that he was to¡tured on April 2O and 2l he spent two hou¡s at DOPS on the "pau de arara" with without intem.rption and then, at irregular intervals, for the electric shocks to his head and testicles and blows to the feet following three days. This tortu¡e took place at the CODII and ears; at the OB he also unde¡went the "pau de arara" headquarters, the lst battalion of the military police, ruaI trcatment twice, and, as he could no longer be hung Barao de Mesquita, Tijica, Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Vainer gives hisj downwards, electric shocks were given to his head. The day torturers as follows: Major Gomes Carneiro, CaptainI Captain Albemaz's team was "on duty," he says he underwent Ziembinski, Lieutenant Avolio, Corporal "Bahiano." a¡dI more than ten consecutive hours of electric shock treatment. several other officers whose names he cannot remember. Het says he underwent several forms of torture: electric shocks to) 4. tle gives the following people as witnesses to his torture: the mouth, head, penis, anus; truncheon blows; and "pau de Jovcn Mae Sebastiana; Doutor Persio; Genesio Iliveira; Cabo atata." Mariani ; Teresinha Zetbni Joao Caldas;and Gioriio Callegari. He himself saw the following tortured at the DOPS and at He says he wds wounded by a bullet in the left leg during his5 OB betwccn November 9,1969 and February 26, l97Oby the detention. This was not treated at all during the torture, Death Squad and Captain Albernaz: Cabo Mariani; Genesio sessions. It was only two days after the tÖrture was finishedI t4 that his wound was examined. On April 22, he was given tortured by the samc ¡reo¡rle as himsclf and wcrc givcn clcctric pentothal injections for four hours. shocks and physically beatcn. 4. Mr. Vainer gives as witncsses to his torture: Lucio Flavio 5. [Ie was brought to thc prison on llha drs l"lo¡es. lle said Regueira;Cid de Queiroz Benjamin; and Samucl Aarao Rcis. that thc conditions of detention in thc intcrrogation ccnters He says that he saw, while in detention, other people tortured were very bad. The detainees were constantly subjected to ill at CODI and at the Rcgimcnto E,scola de Infanteria by the treatment. Nutrition was unreliable and visits were not torturcrs already mentioned above. permittcd. During his internnrcnt on Illta das Florcs, thesi conditions improved sonrcwhat. The main tortures utiljzed were electric shocks and the "pau de arara." He says that in the CENIMAR center, mcdical treatment given by Doctor Coutinho was intended only to increasc thc pain 5. lle said he was brought to the DOPS prison in Rio de the victim was experiencing as the rcsult of torturc, whilc Janeiro on May 25, l91O and to the Regimento Escola de keeping hinr alive so that hc coultl not bc rcgarded as a Inartyr. Infantcria on Junc 16, 1970, where he remained until January Mr. von der Weid was examinecl at the Central Naval llospital I l, 1971. fle was hcld in the military police-prison from at thc cnd of December, 1969. January ll-14, 197 \. He states that he received no legal aid until lte wcnt to prisoni He received no visits from his lawyer or his family for the first family visits to Ilha das filores were allowed threc tinres two months, Throughout his detention he was unable to read monthly and, in some rare cases, oncc a wcek. and'was not atlowed to leave his cell. In prison he never saw the light of day. The food consisted of a spoonful of ¡ice and He received no religious care. one of beans for lunch and dinner. Sometimes there was milk or orange juice at lunch. No medical aid was given him except 6. lle was tried and later rcleased in January of 1971. that administered two days after his arrest for his leg wound. -made 7, Mr, von der Weid his rjeclaration for Amncsty (lornmissioner The lawyer's visits were irregular throughout the pcriod of International in the presencc of thc for Oaths, detention. They always took place in the presence of a police Mr. T. M. Simon. officer responsible for recording the conversation. But, as in previous cases, his lawyer was not allowed to see him during Andres A. Campos the interrogation stage. l. Mr. Canrpos was a mcmbcr of the Latin American During the first two nronths, he was not allowed a visit from Secretariat of the J t'.Cl International Young Catholic his fanrily. Afterwards, these took place every fortnight fo¡ a Studentsl and worked for the Laity Department of CELAM at period of ten minutes. the time of his arrest in Montevideo by the Uruguayan policc, who sent him back to Brazil (Sao Paulo). M¡. Vainer said he was brought before the judge of the military tribunal 'for the fi¡st time after six ¡nonths of 2. He says he was handed over to the police of the OB in detention. Sao Paulo on Novenlbcr 25, l97l and that violence was employed during his interrogation. He was not t¡ied. 3. He says he was tortured frorn November 26-29, 19'7 1 at He was released on January 14,1971. the tortu¡e center of the OB,92l rua Tttoia, Sao Paulo, by teams specially trained in interrogation and torture. Jean Marc von der Weid 4, Mr. Campos states that he saw a young man of 19 l. Student in fuo de Janeiro at the time of his arrest. tortured by beatings and electrii shock in the same centcr, by the same units, on November 28, l9'71. 2. Mr. von der Weid said that he was arrested on September 2, 1969 in Rio de Janeiro by the DOPS and CENIMAR and 5. Detention conditions ir the interrogation centers wcre that violence was employed during his interrogation. very bad; üttle attention was paid to hygiene. 3. He was tortured from September 2-5, 1969 in the rooms At the end of the interrogation he was examined by a doctor set up for torture sessions in CENIMAR, Ponta dos Oitis, Ilha tb determine if he was still marked by the torture;he could das Cobras, by: Inspector Solimar; Inspector Boneschi; not be released until such ma¡ks had disappeared. Colonel Neil; Colonel Pereira de Carvalho; Captain Inojosa; Captain Ipojuca; and Captain de Mar and Guerra. Jose He says that he was never visited by a lawyer, his family, or a Cle¡nento Monteiro. They were assisted by Doctor Coutinho. priest, Mr. von der Weid states that he underùent the following 6. He was not tried and was released on f)ecember 10, 197 l. to¡ture: "pau de arara"; electric shocks; "telephone" (blows to the ears with cupped hands) I near drowning; simulated Conclusions executions; and physical beatings. l. In this report we have considered the depositions of I I 4, He says that he sâw the following persons tortu¡ed at the people, one of whom was a woman. Four of them wcre living CE NIMAR barracks on Scptember 3, 1969: Marcia in Rio de Janeiro, and seven in Sao Paulo, ât the tinrc of their Savaget; Solange Santana; and Alduizio Moreira. They were arrest. t5 tf I I y . ' . If the suspect cannot b re taken as hostages' The Iorture and Homicide p is subjected to the most b universitY Professor, was TORTURE hung naked by the feet and was'worked over' for two hours with baton blows and with electric shocks to thc most During thc month of May, 197 I , thc Subcornnlittcc on scnsitivc parts of the hody. A young girl, whom hc clid not Western Ilemisphere Â,ffairs of tlìc Comlnittee on Foreign know, was forcerl to watch the proceedings and latcr, in the shamcful Rclations, U nitcd Statcs Senate, ttncler the chairmansltip of p¡cscnce of niy friencl, was treatetl in the srrnre Democratic Senator F-rank Church, inteìrogatcd the United nìanrìcr. F-or wccks, rny friend was forced to undcrgo torture wife States Anrbassador to Braz-il, ì!fr. W. Rountrec, Mr. W. Ellis, of this kincl. Anrtther prisoner wls interrogated while his l)irector of USAID-Brazil IL.Jnitcd States Agency for was raped in frttnt of his very eyes by one of his torturers' International Dcveloptnentl, and the Chicf Public Safcty Often thc victim is tortured to death. Someti¡nes the body is gouged, Adviser of USAID in llrazil, Mr. Theodore Brown. Senator found with fingernails and toenails pulled out'eyes (Padre J' Talpe, Tortura ti Church and several colleagues werc concerned at the reports of ancl the body tenibly mutilatcd.. ' ," it iorture in Brazil ancl thc cons€quonces these could have for thc in Brasile , bld. Cultura, 1970, pp' 47-48.) prestige of the Unitctl States" To somc extcnt, Brazil oonsiders itself a "privilegcd satellito" of the United States, as thc Tito cle Alcnc¿r (Brother Tito), afier having described the Americans have provided Brazil with considerable antounts of torturc to which he was subjecter'l for r:veral consecutive days to economic and tcohnical aid,especially for tho army and police. in the hea Torture techniquås at Operacao Bandeirantes Senator Holt and thc subcommittce of the U.S. Sonate wantcd to havc morc detailcd infonnation on the techniques pract.iced by thc Opcracao Bandcirantc,s. Torturc is applierl at the linglishJanguage newspapcrs have also denounced the, Opcracao Bondcirqntes in a very precise manneï; does not Opcracao Bandeirontes as respons.ible for the most fearful it vary and is routinely applicd in a standardized fashion to all tortures. Thc l.lerald Tribune ol Novcmber 6, l97O published of the victilns: torture plays a thc following news: "The OBAN was c¡eated in Séptcrnber, according to which thc 1969 l>y a group of 78 to 80 right-wing individuals fro¡n the Bdndeirantes work, and this iirmy, navy, air forcc, and thc police force. The aim was to will contcnt ourselves with crcate a tearn of specialized police to crush the guerrilla groups relatively recently youn and to'work over' any'suspects,' " by a OBAN worked in the elegant district of Sao paulo, Ibarapuera. Thc methods adopted by OBAN were set out in a declaiation signed by I I well known Brazilian journalists who had been irnprisoned prison-fortre in the other to the judge of the military tribunal. declaration, addrcssed They are interesting to the l3th in that they corroborate each other. which took placc in Salvado¡, Bahia August 23. furnished It details of to Ma¡cos Amrda, a young geologist, and elsewhere. son of an American mother, and Marlene Soccas, painter and dentist, had known each othcr for a short tilne and arranged to meet for dinner. Thei¡ After declaring that all political prisoners (nearly in Tiradentes mecting was thc hcginning of an agonizing tragedy. Marcos IB eycs, ttlottth, and nostriìs' Arruda is lt prcscnt at libcrty and abroad. Marlenc So ccas shocks on nty face, in my cars, he is lotting off wrote an open lettcr lro¡tl hcr prison cull in'fi¡adcntes to thc One of thc policcrnen rentarked,'l-ook, grotr¡r of t<¡rturers were judge of tlrc military trihunrrl which is to try hcr. sparks. Put it in his ear now.'The uncler the conrmand of (ìaptain Alt¡ernaz irnd consisted of about six men, among them Scrgeants Tomas, Mauricio, Letter from Marcos Settamini Pena de Arruda Chico, and Paulinho. to Pope Paul Vl "The torture was so serious and long-lasting that I drained; llcrc is thc lcttcr wluch Marr:os Setta nl^ini Pena de Arruda thought I would die. I hegan to fcel conlplctcly in a cold sweat; I tould not movc sent to the Vatican on [ìctrruary 4 l9'7 l: my botiy was covercd ' nry cyelids; I was swallowing my tongtte and could'only "l'lcasc fincl hcrewith iln ¿ooount of all tllat happened to breathe with difficulty; I could no longer spcak. I tricd great ¡nen who had rnc dttring llnlost ninc months'imprisonment'.. ' I was throughout this time to think o[ icleal.'l'his e ncouraged arrcstccl on May l l, l9?0 in Sao Paulo on my way to suffered horrible things for a noble ,1, give tles¡rair. I fclt that my rlinner with a young ìady whonr I had recently mct. I me to fight on and not wây to gangrenous [rcc¿use circttlation was aftcrwar P.M.l and it was beginni¡g to get dark when I practically crying out loudly' I could not see lost consciousness. Each time that I fainted, they threw prevented me from eyelids still would not move. The water over me to increase my sensítivity to the electric ihem well because my one can hold outagáinst shocks. Then they took the wi¡e from my testicles and policeman continued tosay,'No you are going to die' . Hc wcnt out for a began to apply it to my face and head, giving me terrible Sergio Adao, ' '' l9 monìcnt with the ol hcr to see if anyonc was corning and Robert, a hugc lieute nant witlì ginger hair and moustache, thcn rcturnccl tr¡ continuc. Iìvcntually, I nranaged to cry a young feeblc-looking black, and thrce others, about out loudly. Thcy wcre frightcned and lcft me. . . whonl I can rcnlcmber nothing, took part in this torture sc sslo n. "l rcnrained in the gcncral hospital for about a month and a half. During this tinrc I u,as visited scvcral times for "Thc f ollorving cvening, *h* ttt.y camc for me I was questioning. My farnily had been trying to help mc and again suffering fronr contraotions, rny right side was for r¡vcr a nlonth had becn trying unsuccessfully to find paralyz.ed, I dribbled, my body twiLched constantly. . . . nre. I finally reccivcd a note rvhich told me that they had discovcred whcrc I was, But I remained .incommunìcado, "Tho ncxt morning i was carried into court, My condition without perurission to soe my farnily, for five more had considerably worsened and my soizurcs were months, and I received no visit from a lawyer throughout continual and more visiblc. I was photographed, my thc-tJuration of my dctcntion. fingerprints were taken, and I was then brought into a room on the sa¡ne floor as the tortu¡c room. A sergeant in "Whcn I was rcle asd frorn the hospital, my right eyelid a military police unifornr with his name band covered was still parllyzctl (it rcnlained thus until tho month ol with a sash, interrogated me calmly for 45 minutes. lle I)cccmbcr) and I had a slight but constant shake in thc threatened me alternatcly with tortu¡e and death if I shouldcrs, thc lcft arnr and leg; thc latter, half paralyzed. reluscd to confess. Later, hc told nre that he was a doctor could not support any weight and I was obligcd to use a and kncw that I would die if he permitted me to be hroomstick for a walking stick. tortured again. ln the end, lte gave ntc an injcction for my spasms and tolrl me that I ought to bc taken back to the "l was *^nt lrack to OI], put in a cell, and told to wrìte hospital. Throughout the night, I was locked up in a out a stütcnrcnt.... I finishctl this in three days, at the bathroom and was then taken to a doctor, Primo Alfrcdo, cncl of which timc I was brought face to face with the who had recently bccn arrested. Throughout the night, we young woman whonl I had bcen on my way to mcet at heard as usual the tcrrible screams of people being thc tinlc <>f rny arrcst lt rvas six o'clock when I was tortured. The following morning I was once again brought carricd into the room wherc shc was kept. Thcy wanted to the nrilitary hospital. nlc to adrnit the na¡le of thc organization of which they bclicvcd I was a mcmbcr antl thcy wanted me to give "Two days later my condition began to wbt..n and I lost narncs of supposcd comrades, Thcy began to carry the consciousress and became delirious; this conditic.¡n lasted young wonlan off into anothcr roonr and gave her a more than ten days. I learned afterwards what had strong clcctric shock in order to rnake me talk (thcy were, happenc "I am awaiting my trial in a building built in 1854, which we served in the past for the buying and selling of slaves who Torture in Brazil is not practiced solely in what might term labored in the cultivation of Sao Paulo's coffee' It is a as an "official" context, that is, in prisons and interrogation historical monument with an unhappy past, a plaie where centers. It is also practiced by groups iecruited from among much suffering and death have occur¡ed. The strange the police force: the Death Squads. irony is that it bears the most significant name of history, that of one of the martyrs for Senator Church: "Mr. Brown ITheodore Brown, Brazilian you liberty-Tiradentes. Here both political and common-law Chief Pubtic Safety Adviser, USAlD-Brazill , are prisoners are housed. After what I have seen and lived in a position to tell us about the Death Squads in through, I am now bettel able to know what a Brazil, are you not? Do you know about them? 'democratic and Christian' society signified. All that I . .. lVhat are these death squads, based upon what I learned at school and throughout my life about human you have read and what you know, engaged in doing been obüterated by my experiences inside in Brazil?" I dignity has I these high and insu¡mountable walls. Mr. Brown: "Well, it is alleged that they are a group police has taken the law into I "I very often heard, from beneath my cell, the deafening of irresponsible that I noise made by correcíonais prisoners detained here their own hands, so to speak, and felt that it was thei¡ action and not bothe¡ about illegally by the police, who are piled up for months at a duty to take di¡ect I (U.S. time on cold cement without mattresses or coverings, , r€course to the courts." Senate Hearings.) i There were terrible scenes each time a young newcomer arrived in the cell for there was no lack of sexual perverts there. The youth was obliged to submit, in view of the silent complaisance of the prison employees, and was not left alone until he was covered in blood. . . . I have often asked that something be done about these inhuman conditions which provide a lugubrious amusement for the jailers and police. honor."' 2l Throughout the years, the punishment and execution of The Death Squad in the state of Spirito Santo marginais Ideviants; petty criminals] has become more than a question of hono¡, Corpses, found abandoned in numerous The Brazilian prcss reoently published (O [istado de Sao districts, showed signs of extrenre sadism. After about seven Paulo, A,pril 16, 1972) the following telcgram addressed to the years in existence, the "LeCocq Society" has, according to President of the Republic. lt accused the former Secretary of Jornal do Brcsil (Novernbcr 3, l97l) acquired a huge property Public Safcty c¡f the state of Spirito Santo, Mr, Jose (La F'azcnda Pirípora) in the state of Minas Gerais. It recently Dias- brother of the former state governo¡, Mr. Christiano l)ias launched its own official newspaper, O Gringo, directed by a Lopes Filho-of beinp, one of the heads of the local Death certain A. Carrasco (Jornal do Brosil, May 24, 197 2). O Gringo Squad: named as honorary president the Brazilian journalist David Nasser, director and editor-ìn-chief of the weekly O Cruzeiro "We bring to Your Exccllency's attention the ncw and member of the lnternational Press Association. and disturbing evidence against the formerSecrctary of Public Safety in the state of Spirito Santo, Mr. Hund¡eds of assassinataons Jose f)ias, who has been singlcd out as one of the principal members of thc group of policcmen known Many authorities who welcomed these semi-private to belong to the Death Squad which has stained with organizations, like the "LeCocq Society," and offered them blood the land of capixabas Iof or pertaining to the protsction, felt it necessary to face the problem of crime by state of Spirito Santol by brutally killing Brazilian organizing other g¡oups along the lines of the "LeCocq citizens and burying thern on the bcrach of Jucu about Socicty" so that they could be entrusted with the trial and 12 kilorncters from the town of Vitoria. In addition summary elimination of supposed criminals. Thus, in Rio de to the cold-bloodcd murders committed, the local Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and later in othe¡ Brazilian states, f)eath Death Squad is responsiblc for theits of anns (several Squads ¡ecruìted from the police force came into being. nrachine guns and other arnraments), car thefts, financial scandals involved with the ga,me ol bicho, These squads are, therefore, groups made up largely of and c¡f white slavery.All the high ranking nrembers of policemen, which kill under the protection of higher the police force who worked with thc ex-secretary authorities. Generally the squads are not satisfied simply to have also been indicted [2 depositions have bcen kill the individual they believe to be "i¡remediable." ln order madel. to publicize their activities, thei¡ spokesmen do not hesitate to telephone the newspapers to announce in great detail how The capixabo people have confidence in their lcgal many murgín¿i¡ will be assassinated by the squad on the system and in their Public Prosecutor aud hope that following day. They then give the exact location of the justice will be done and that the pcrson responsible corpses, the presunlos (the slang they use for their victims). for the crimes committed by the infamous Death The tortured victims are often found handcuffed, with obvious Squad will be punished. . . . We beg Your F)xcellency marks of torture and with macabre inscriptions (Realídade, to be good enough to record these facts and to January, 1971, pp. 60-68). The Jornal do ßrasil (of April 20, demand an inquiry into their veracity by the security 1970) reports: "ln Guanabara and in the state of Rio alone, organs so that no aspect of this tragedy will be the number of deaths attributed to the Death Squad is more overlooked." I I 2 depositions were enclosed with the than I,000, that is, almost 400 a year. The victims show signs statement ] of unnecessåry cruelty. Fbr example, between January I I and July l, 1969,40 bodjes were found in the waters of the Macacu River, buried in the mud near the bridge between Maje The Death Squad in Bahia and Itabo¡ai. All of the bodies, in an advanced state of decomposition, still showed the marks of handcuffs and burns The same situation exists in other states. For cxample, as caused by cigarettes or cigars and multiple bruising; sonie of reported in lhe Jornal do Brasil (June 10, l97l): "During an them were still handcuffed. According to the findings of the audience with President Medici, the governor of Bahia, M¡. autopsy, it was noted that many had been tortured, shot, and Antonio Carlos Magalhaes told him that 'unfortunately the then drowned." Death Squad has established itself in the Secretariat of Public Safety, not simply to steal, but also to kill. Poücemen of Suits filed against the Death Squads varying ranks kill gnd steal with impunity.' The governor remarked that the worst aspcct of the situation was the fact Unfortunately, the journalists and magistrates have been that the police of Bahia were afraid of delinquents, who were unable to reconstn¡ct the c¡iminal activities of the Death also police agents, and that therefore the reg'-¡l¿¡ police force Squads, except in a limited number of cases, because the ,could not control the situation." y¡uads get rid of any possible future witnesses who could pose a danger to them, The x¡uads follow the witnesses to their The new Death Squads homes or even to their cells in prison in order to kill them-this has been reported in the Brazilian press, During the last months, the situation has dramatically worsened. "The flight of vultures," writes O Globo (March 2O, When one person, condemned to death Uj tfre squaos, riddled 1972), "indicates the position where nameless corpses lie in with blows, and left for dead was found dying but was saved, the cemetery of the lowlands of Rio de Janeiro. Early in the indignation was expressed by the press and the public, Never- morning, says an inhabitant, we often hear the sound of an theless, the director of the review Veja (March 3, 1971, p. 6), in engine, then some shots, and the car moves off, We reply to a question put by a reader, mentioned that out of 123 immediately go and look for the bodies; we do not always find homicides attributed to the Death Squad in Sao Paulo between them straight away because they are often in the middle of a Novembe¡, 1968 and lune, 1970, only five murders had been thicket, but you only have to wait a little while: the vultures investigated by the magistrate. , soon indicate where the body is. . ..." 2A illustrate the patronage they enjoy' We will Croups policcrtten trom Rio have begun killing without Squad and to of with these few examples, but it is obvious iti.ling trehind thc anonymity of the Dcath Squad. content ourselves "u"n that we could quote manY others. I'ligh ranking authorities have statecl that the notion of Sao Paulo are of major importance. The assassination is thc only valid one i¡ order to "resolve the Those involved in fi¡st, who has beçn charged æveral times in court, is accused of being a murderel, a thief, a dnrg addict and dealer, a torturer, and ã white slaver: Jose Alves da Silva. He acted as a de facto assistant director of the huge Ti¡adentes prison in Sao Paulo' The second, Olintho Denardi, is the present director' of Tiradentes prison" The third, 'delegado' Scrgio Paranhos Fleury, is without any doubt the most famous head of the Brazilian political police. (O tistaclo de Sao Paulo, April 9, 1972,) Joæ Alves da Silva Ee Guard,a) Forme¡ sergeant in the military police, was the de facto The CCC and other murder squads t assistant di¡ector of the Tiradentes prison (O Globo, February one of the I 2, 197 l) in Sao worst torturers icemen' he is also the f)ea number of crimes on his ebruary 4' lg':-2), Aa the moment, Jose Alves da Silva is involved in'a trial for the murder of Claudio Jose Faria' According to information published in the press, he has already been indictedin l4trials. Second Auxiliary Jurisdiction, where Ze Guarda is being tried for the murder of Claudio Jose Faria (Claudiao), the judge, OBAN, Duc to continúal and firm pressure from the religiotrs authorities ãnd fronl the magistrates, an inquiry was initiated' (Aprit writes: "The judge t The Jornal do Brasit 25, 1972) ) desembarcador, Agamemnon Duarte, indicated that the CCC lr ãnã tft. C.l.A. are implicated in the nlurde¡ of Father I Henrique Ne hat . . ' the American Secret ,È judge ,l Se¡vicå [C. I. e cCC' . , . The said, i. t involvement of the C'l'A' in ; among othe¡ ì America, in Mexico, and in t terrorist acts t972.) I southern Patagonia, is well known.' " Doctor Olintho Denardi Theæ allegations, addressed by dge to the United i States, anã published in thc B papers, should be I carefully considered by States Senate ! Affai¡s. ì Subcommittee on Foreign ! L The leaders of the Death Squads ti I h to I It is sufficient to quote just a few examples in Sao Paulo I Death f ãescribe a few of the b"tt.t known members of the , I P3 f i t: i of the Tiradentcs prison, the'delegados,' the inspectors, and death of Ne go Sete, is as follows: Ge neral Airosa Da Silva, the wardens are accused of taking eight detainees held in the Conrmande r-in-Chief of Sccond Army; (ìoloncl Luis Mariel prison away to be killed. 'fhe allegations of prosecuto¡ Helio Junior of the air force, president crf the CCI, General Bicudo went as follows: 'The victims were gathered together Investigations Conl¡lrittec in Sao Paulo;C<¡lonel Jose de Souza severaf tinres during l97O n the Tìradentes prison as Leal, Head of Public Relations Section of the Second Army; conecionuis ¡rrisoners. From there, they were kidnapped in Roncel Carneiro, former state prosccutor; Paulo Pestana, drantatic circumstances, with the connivance of the prison Secretary for Tourism; Celso'Ielles, directo¡ of DEIC ; Vi¡gilio ilirector,'delegado' Olintho Den4rdi, and of suboràinate Lopes da Silva, Secretary for Labor; L,uis Ferreira, doctor; officers. To hidc the victims'presence in the prison, the prison Fcrnando Vieira de Melo. ernployee of thc Tclcvision Rccord crnployccs and menrbers of the DEIC lDeparttnento Estadual (O Estado dc Suo Paul¡¡, October 22, 191O) de Investigacoes Crintinais] used diffcrent mcthods, among them, falsifying the dates on the DARC l'iles ISection of "Delegado" S. P. Fleury, his team and torrure the Archives and Criminal Registers] and of documents from the Volr¡rcs section of the prison. Thcy also took away 'l'he DOFS in Sao Paulo and the OB conrpete in the fieltl of goods the of one of the victims and shared these out among torture. "Delegudo" S. p. Fleury, head of thc DOpS, is themselvcs,"' t accused of bc'ing one of thc worst torturers of cornmon-law and political prisoners. His narne almost always erops upin Doctor Sergio Paranhos Fleury depositions ol those tortured in Sao Paulo, but his torture activities a¡e not confined to this state. "Delegado"of DOPS in Sao Paulo; he was mentioned by the press -fltc Brazilian as thc head of the Death Squad in Sao Paulo, l)cath Squads and torture Ilave their most inrportant and ,'dclcgado', and in nu¡nerous allegations has been cited as one of the most wcll-k nown rcprcrcntative in thc person of Fle ury. unstinting torturers of political prisoners. Ite haS, above all, rnade himself famous following a police operation which led to Torture and those responsible the death of the former deputy, Carlos Marighela, killed in the Sao Paulo ocnter. According to the submission of prosecutor In our roport, w.e have applied the term torture to the ill Hefio Bicudo (Veia, February 20,l9'70, p. 22)"deleçado"S. treatment meted out to prisoners by military or civilian P, Fleury is accused of having killed, togethe¡ with other ernployees under the command of higher authoritie s, or with policemen, Airon Nery Nazareth (Risadinha) on Pinheirinho the protection of these authorities. The torture of an land near Suzano. Nazareth had been taken from the DEIC cell individual detained by the constituted authorities is an whe¡e he was being held, Fleury is also accused, with l4 other extremuly serious occurrence, and everything that takes place policemen, of having taken eight prisoners from the Tiradentes in a collective organization irnplics responsibility on the part prison in Sao Paulo with the purpose of killing them in revenge of the hcad of that organiz-ation. fo¡ the murder of policeman Agostinho Goncalves Carvalho (lornal do Brasil, May 2, 197 l). It was thought until recently that torture was confined to the Middle Ages. Ilowever, in recent years, information on torture In addition, Fleury is accused of having killed, along with men in Brazilian prisons and military barracks has unfortunately from his section, two drug traffickers (Luciano and Paraiba) been overwhelming; hundreds of depositions and testimonies because they said that they had a black list with the names of have been made. important policè employees in Sao Paulo who were paid by the biggest drug traffickers. According to the charge, the Reasons for torture police agents killed the victims "oruelly." Mr. Fleury and his colleagues were recognized l:y the Sta[e Commission of Reasons for the use of torture can be summa¡ized in two Investigation (Veia, December, l9?0, p.22) as being guilty of categories: to serve both a policing and a repressive function. corruption linked with the trafficking of drugs. All of these In the Middle Ages, torture had ærved, above all, a police events were widely covered by the Brazilian press, function and was used to extract confessions.'Ihis is still the primary reason for the use of tortu¡e in Brazilian police However, what is surprising in examining the case of Fleury is stations today. the arrogance with which he publicly treated the judges in charge of his t¡ial. During the trial where, with l3 other Bu.t the actual psychological reason which leads governments policemen, members of the Death Squad, he was charged with to employ torture is doubtless found in the fact that torture the murder of Antonio de Souza Campos (Nego Sete), killed in has an immense capacity for intimidation which often Guarulhos, he not only ¡efused to answer questions put to him succeeds in controlling the thoughts and will of people, Many by Judge Fernandez Braga (O Estado de Sao Paulo, October are defeated by the fear cif torture and accept situations which 22, l97O\, but also wished to call to his defenæ the highest a¡e offensive to their human dignity. Governments can then military and civil authorities in the state. The list of defense ignore all laws and rights with the confidence that the people witnesses for Mr, S. P. Fleury at the trial concerned with the will not dare to register any protest. 24 T t Petition From Amnesty International to the Brazilian Government ¡ i t AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, Urgently petitions the Brazilian government to: Considering the number of verified arbitrary ar¡ests in Brazil cited by lawyers, schola¡s, politicians, churchmen, released (l) Grant facilities to an international commission of prisoners, direct witnesses, and the Brazilian and international inqui¡y; pfess; (2) Autho¡ize the commission to investigate, .Consideing further the extent, the systematicnature, and the without hirdrance, the accuracy or otherwise of the increase ìn the use of torture, which, since 1968, appears-to allegations of violations of Articles 5, 9, 18, and l9 of have been practiced with a steadily increasing expertise in the the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identified police stations and interrogation centers of Brazil; in this document; Considering that tortu¡e and murder are committed by other (3) Authorize the preparation and publication of a specialized groups such as the CCC lComandô de Caca aos report concerning the violations of Article 5 of the Comunistasl and the Death Squad; Universal Declaration of Human Rights committed by the independent police groupings such as the Death Recalling tþat the existence of torture and the malpractices of Squad and the CCC, and in the proceduies used in the the specialized groups have been recognized by the highest interrogation of political prisoners within the prison authorities in Brazil, which have, nevertheles, failed to and judicial systems; prevent these activites (4) Release, on the occasion of the l5Oth anniversary Recognizes that the extent and gravity of past and current of the Independence of Brazil, all persons held in allegations, from identified and multiple sources, constitute violation of Articles 9, 18, and 19 of the Unive¡sal serious, widespread, and specific charges, Declaration of Human Rights. Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrad¡ng treatment or punishment. Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or ex¡le. Artícle 18: Everyone has the r¡ght to freedom of thought, consc¡ence, and religion; thís right includes freedom to change his religÍon or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practíce, worsh¡p, and observance. Article l9: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression;this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, rece¡ve, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. t '2.5, I the dctaincc fccls "secure"; he c:an be located and accounteo Report by Georges Pinet fo¡, his disappearancc can immediately be noted. Thercforc, such transfers create anxiety and insecurity among, the remaining prisoners. Thc arbitrary nature of the transfers, whatever statutory reasons are given, thus becomes an Georges Pinel, who is a lawyer at the Paris bar, made this instrument of tcrror. report afier a visit to Brazil in July of 1972. The inquiries carried out hy M. Pinet were underloken at the request of the The hunger strike of Sao Paulo then had as its only causc and Intcrnational Secretariat of Catholíc Jurists and the objective the protection of the health and lives of the International Assocí¿tion of Democratic Jurists. Amnesty prisoners. Despite censorship, the Brazilian public realized this International has added to its own report, as an appendix, the and was profoundly moved, The strike was not a means of extracts Pinet's political agitation, or an action controlled but I following from M, report, leeling that rhey from ahroad, provide øn up-to-date series ol observalions on the present purely and simply, as has been very much stressed in Brazil, an i situatíon in Brazil, "existential" action. l I I Tortu¡e: existence and inlitutional and judicial framework I I arrived in Sao Paulo on July 15, l9'72 with a mandate from i the International Secretariat of Catholic Jurists and the Much has been written and reported concerning torture in lnte¡national Association of Democratic Jurists. I returned to B¡azil, although unfortunately thìs is not the only country to Paris on July 22 after also having spent some time in Rio de employ this technique. Janei¡o. I met with approximately ten Brazilian lawyers, the president of the Order of Lawyers in Sao Paulo, a What should be stresscd here is its institutional character, and parliamentary deputy, a general in the reserve forces, two the fact that an entire apparatus exists to carry out torture, ¡ournalists, a number of religious personalities, including w.ith no other justification than the maintenance of the Monsignor Arns, Archbishop of Sao Paulo, and his assistant, present regime. l)om Lucas, Monsignor Lorscheider, Secretary General of the National Conference of B¡azilian Bishops, a representative of The most serious aspect of torture in Brazil is that; within the the committee for assistance to prisoners, and a number of framework of the present regime, it does not appear relatives of persons who have been imprisoned, or who have reasonablei to hope that the authorities will return to a respect "disappeared." I also had an interview with the president of of the most basic human rights. the Military Tribunal of Sao Paulo during an adjournment in the tribunal session at which I was present. Among other Torture i¡ B¡azil is not and could not be the result of requests, I asked the presidcnt to allow me to visit certain individual excesses; neither is it nor can it simply be an prisoners. He replied that it was not within his power to give over-reaction to terrorist attempts to overth row a regime such authorizations. I was not able to enter a single prison, so already in difficulty, and, in its turn, provokiñg the famous that an undertaking which would normally be encompassed "cycle of violence." This cannot be the case because armed within the framework of a fact-finding mission, could only struggle no longer exists in Brazil, take place in Brazil as a mission of intervention. Torture is a manifestation and the necessary result of a The hunçr strike political model, with a judicial framework and a socieeconomic content. I was asked to carry out the mission of inquiry because of a long hunger st¡ike which was undertaken by 36 political On the basis of Institutional Act No. 5, autonomous organs of prisoners as a symbol ol protest against, and a demand for the repression, exempt from all judicial control, were created, Ifor return of six of their number, including, three Dominican example, OBAN in Sao Paulo and CODI in Rio de Janeiro. priests suddenly and arbitrarily transferred to the Mato Grosso frontier. These units operate through organized terror and secrecy. Duplicating the activities of the official political police The strike ended on the night of July ll-12, havinglasted 33 IDOPSl, these autonomous groups kidnap, torture,and often days, without any assurances being given that the requests of kill suspects; suspects whose crimes are defined, ever more the prisoners would be met, widely, under the terms of the law of national security, thus opening the door to such persecution, Demands for habeas This strike, including the tortures and maltreatment imposed, corpus do not stand in their way. In the rare instances where in particular on two of the strikers accused of being the such requests we¡e accepted by legal authorities, they would leaders, cannot be isolated from the history of the struggle in be ignored by these units. Brazil for the guarantee of minimum rights for all prisoners. Furthermore, it is impossible to locate persons detained by It is significant that 36 men, given their situation as prisoners, OBAN or CODI. or to know their exact number. risked their health and lives in o¡de¡ to protest the transfer of six persons out of Tiradentes prison. Secrecy is an instrument of terro¡. Reasons for the strike The frqedom enjoyed by these institutions of repression m their use of, torture is one of the marks of its They took this action because the unexpected and brutal institutionalization; another is what can be te¡med as the removal of a prisoner at night from a detention center has "sophistication" of torture, often indicated that the prisoner was to be transferred to a torture center, or, quite bluntly, was to be killed. In prison, There is a iwofold advantage in using these new methods: ?8 First, should any medical examination even be carried out aS a large-scale population movements, will not resoþe the result of public protest campaigns, it wjll not be possible to difficulties. verify any. physical injury. Inauguration of an international q,stem to maintain and Furthermore, we know that after a certain threshold is defend human rights such as requested by the Forum on the passed, or after a certain period of time, physical pain becomes Defense of Human Rights,z held in Montevideo in 1971, is the psychologically bearable fo¡ the sufferer. Scientific research, in overriding hope of Brazilians. which doctors must necessarily have participated, has made it possible to identify the maximum suffering that the various That this hope is expressed, sometimes with intensity, by all systenrs of the body can endure, without resulting in death. kinds of people-ecclesiastics, lawyers, politicians . of all This is why, rather than continuing to rely on methods of shades of opinion-toward whom the families of those who physical coercion ("pau de arara," electric shock, beatings, 'idisappear" or are imprìsoned turn, in the hope of some suffocation by water, and all manner of othe¡ cruelties, information or intervention, not only indicãtes a strong including sexual abuse), the,regime now employs terrible internal opposition, but is also an appeal for active support to rnethods of psychological torture in addition to the use of which Europeans should be the first to iespond. They know clect¡onic equipment. the results of allowing, through indifference and silence, the development of a political system in which the demand for Testinronies reveal that, after having undergone interrogation, human rights became, as it has now become in Brazil, a crime stripped, and with the head covered by a hood, the suspect is against the state. isolated in a tiny refrigerated room, given no food or water, and givcn no other means of carrying out natural body functions other than in the room itælf. Thc victinr is tlten subject to "sophisticated" treatment for several days; unbearable noises, such as the sound of jet engines, screams of terror, deafening and nerve-shattering music, and flashing lights combine with thirst, cold, and hunger to create delirium. Then, while the victim is under the illusion of fantasies resulting from this delirium, a vision of water is offered him, and a feminine voice suggests that his thirst will be satisfied if he confesses or signs A deólaration. The use of such audio-visual and psychological methods suggest that human, material, and therefore substantial hudgetary resources are being used, and therefore, that such methods are an integral part of the system. Thus, in Brazil, torture is not the expresion of a passing crisis or a single scandalous phenomenon, but is an integral part of the political system which affects a growing proportion of the population. It is said in Brazil that in the cities approximately one family in three has been affected by repression: disappearance or imprisonment of a nember of the family, blackmail, pressure, persecution of all sorts. Whatever may be the case concerning the "Brazilian miracle," preænted in terms of figures which are distorted in large-scale publicity campaigns,l the capitalist development regime in Brazil is incapable of resolving the tensions which have been created by the increase in its massive population. A variety of population movements, such as migration into the cities, peasant troubles in the northeast, instability in the huge slums lfavelasl leading to crime and brutal repression, have not been halted or controlled. The middle classes, who are not in faår of sharing the gains of the "Brazilian'miracle," except through insecure and uncertain speculation on the stock exchange, are frightened; the fear can only increase in view of the fact that the concentration of profits will only continue at the cost of a continual reduction in the purchasing power of the poorest sectors of society. Ambitious strategic and publicity-oriented efforts such as 2The confidence placed in the possible effectiveness of the "Amazonia Highway" project, which will le¿d to inter-governmental intervention, by itself, was shaken by the failure of the U.N, to name a High Commissioner of Human I Entrusted, on l50th anniversary of Brazil's independence, to Rights-in view of the fact that it would be the governments a North American firm specializing in public relations. themselves who would be on trial. 27 IHE WORTD TIME Jvly 9, 1973 PR,ISONERs Spreoding Reprersion. National vanity is another target. "Politicians Amnesty for the.Defense want to be loved," saYs AmnestY Spokesman Mark Crantham. "When The atrocity stories flow into the we're alleging all over the world that London headquarters Am- spartan of they're acting in a rather crude way, it nesty International from all over the embarrasses theriì. It hurts fortheir am- I wonld: political prisoners beaten, bassador at the U.N., who is there to shocked, drugged nlaimed the or for sPeech against crime of criticizing their government. make an impressive world hunger, to be asked about a sor' Says American Lawyer James Becket, did case of torture.'ì is preparing a worldwide survey who The organization's move into the of the subject for A.I.: "Rulers of the area of political torture was hastened past often openly institutionalized tor- ture to better defend their power and privilege. Their counterparts today sol- emnly deny it publicly while they are busily reñning the technology of torture copied in Argentina. Behavior'altering and the theory of order without law." torturing a prisoner 40-page report issued teihniques-like ln a sobcring, he is being shown slides of his in London last week, Amnesty Inter- while family-are showing up in Brazil. (The national zeroed in on such practices in prisoner comes to associate his wife and South Viet Nam, where, it estimates, òhildren with pain-and the effects moré than 100,000 people have been seem to endure.) In Greece, a favorite jailed as political prisoners. Describing technique is the in which the varieties of torture in agonizing detail, falanga, soles of the feet are beaten to a pulp said: "There can be no doubt that A.l. with sticks. South Viet Nam is accused is widely used in the areas con- [torture] of using a well-known form of torture trolled by the lSaigon governmentl not POsIER PRESSEs A.I, CAUSE in which soapy water is pumped into a instrument intimidation only as an of victim's stomach and then forced out but as an end in itself." The report is an- the nostrils. in A.l.'s newly launched cam- Started on a shoestring by London through other step Amnesty International contends paign to "raise a public outcry through- Lawyer Peter Benenson, A.l. has recent- that some governments not only prac- out the world until torture becomes as ly grown in both size and influence. In tice torture but indirectly admit it to in- unthinkable as slavery." 197 I its annual budget was $130,000; timidate other dissenters. Margaret Pa- For 4.1., the anti-torture campaign this year it is $425,000. About TOVo of pandreou (wife of the former Greek represents a broadening of its original its money comes from contributions by Cabinet minister) charges that Greece's mandate. sort Red Cross of polit- members, the rest f rom foundations and A of government "wants peoPle to ical warfare, the organization has hith- private sources. AIong with a full-time military it is torturing prisoners"-al- erto limited itself to seeking freedom staff of 50, it now has more than 30,000 know that who dare for pcilitical prisoners round the world. members in 6l countries. A.I. is accord- though it imprisons those dis- cuss the matter openlY. Since its founding in 196 I, it has taken ed consultative status at the United Na- get. its anti-torture campaign up the cases of some | 3,000 such cap- tions, the Council of Europe, the Or- To rolling, Amnesty isseeking a million sig- tives; as a result of its efforts, more than ganization of American States and the natures to a petition drawn from Ar- 7.500 have been released. Organization of African Unity. Five the U.N.'s Universal Dec- Among those who have been helped One of its favorite tactics is a mas- ticle of "No one by A.l. are Chana's former Finance sive international mail campaign on be- laration of Human.Righs: be to torture or to cruel. Minister Joseph H. Mensah, who was half of its "adopted" prisoners. The let- shall subjected degrading treatment or I imprisoned after a recent coup; an ln- ters are written bv A.l. members that inhuman or 'have punishment." The petition urges the novclist held without speçific respónsibility for individ- donesian trial for U.N. to "immediately outlaw the tor- eight years; and Rhodesian Journalist ual prisoners. Says Amnesty Chairman ture of prisoners throughout the world." Peter Niesewand, who was first sen- Séan MacBride, a onetime Foreign I Until the U.N. attains more political I tenced to prison and then deported for Minister of the Irish Republic: "The av- ôlout, that call may be ignored. But as violating his country's rigid alanche of mail bags is still the biggest Official Se- far as Amnesty International is con- crets Act (Tlue, May l4). A.I. makes single annoyance to most governments. cerned. a start will have been made. an almost sanctimonious effort to re- Mail piles up. lt's a nuisance. Sooner main politically neutral; individual or later the matter is at Cabinet level cases are carefully investigated to pre- and everyone is wondering whether the vent the organization from being used ,prisoner is worth all this trouble The for essentially nonpolitical crimes. answer is frequently no." -.t i THE NEW YORK TIIIIES,IUIONDÅY JULY T6, 1973 Peace \Ãrift Fïoncr By Anthony Lewis Champ)ain desclibcd hov¿ various LONDON, July l5-'-Iortule during all of us. I.Ior can thc cases of mis' prisoners lost the use ol thcir legs interroga[iin, or as a disciplinary trest¡nent of Arner.icæ¡ rvar prisoners by bcing confinecl itr the cages or and measure wilhin prisons, is no longer in NcrtLc'lDaü excrtse massivo shackteci to thcir bccls. even nrotivated by a dcsire to gather contlnuing offlcial terror in the South. Thc Saigon Gover::ntent of l{guYen 'intelligence' torture is rvidely Can tho stories be true? That ls Van Thicu js lnan'eÌotrsly cynical in people Vr'ett uscd no¿ only as atr ins'trunrerrt of what somo !n the v"ot:ld its disct¡ssiort of theso natters: It says facc thc intimidation but as an end in itself . . . asl<, fiuding ii difficùlù to that thcre are no "pcrlitical prisoners" in many instances torture has become horrors re¡nrted. But the re .is no all: Everyons in its jails is eititcr of at no ¡norc or less than a malter of cscape that, way, l¡oa the riiuation a conìmon crilrinal or n ''Co¡rimttllist-" habit." political prisoncrs Ln Sotttl¡ Vielnam In fact, as evcryont in Soutl'. Vict- de- Those are sonre phrases-some of has becn see,n and ¡;raplilcallY nam linows, people aro arrested for ol observers: the milder ones-.fro¡n a report recent- scribed by a vride variety having shcet mrtsic of an an'-iwar Iy issuod by Amnesty Intcrnational, Ame¡ican Congressmen, correspond' song, for carrl,i¡g ricc ai nìp.ltt, for dociors e.rrd tnarty oiJrers. the hlghly respecteil independent or- ents, an)' reason that strlkes a police '.vhirn. garrizaüorr conccrned rvith polii.ù-l The leaCing Dritish ccmmmciai tcle' À{any are ¡lot trjed but hclú lndefitliie' písoncrs aroun (4rs) 32s-9907 325-9714 (in consultative status with the United Nations, the Council the Organization of American States, the Organi' WHAT YOU CAN DO àf Eo.op., zation oi African Uniry, and UNESCO. AMNESTY was started in 196I. Its purpose: to work for Send me the bi-monthlY newsletter as my first fî T *i.h to become a ntember gnd enclosc $15 H onnu"l subscription. Send mc the monthly newsletter prisoners. ^ the only organization of its at my.address belorv' Today AMNESTY remains ^ . kind, wiih Groups in 36 countries' members in a further 58 contact me countries ancl a iotal membership of 30,000+. Through them, ñ I rvish.to forrn an Ârnncsty Group--please ks for the release of Prisoners, - soolr as possiblc to help rnc get startcd hardship. AMNESTY acts ". s a humanitarian movement I wish to join an Amncsty Group. Please s¿nd me the iliation of any kind. address of my ncarcst grouP' BECOME A MEMBER I enclose $ as a donation to further the work of As an individual me u suPPort the Amnc sty International' organization, receive it tl other liter- atíre, and add your vo rncd with the obseryance of basic human rights. FORM A GROUP OR JOIN A GROUP Name d. Each one Address ne from the City State . They work -zip of their Telephone Occupation families. All co ntr íb utio ns ar e t ar -d etl uc t íb le' SEND A DONATION Prisoners can be released, lives saved, familics cared for--but it requires funds, Funtls to investigate cases thoroughly-, to ,sendiepreser,tatives to trials, to supPort prisoners' families, to prepare and publish reports' disseminate infonnation' to do more effective work.