Amnesty International Report 2017/18

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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

after a new law expanded the jurisdiction of 

military courts to try crimes committed by 

military personnel. The military denied using 

firearms, and did not announce whether it 

had opened an investigation into the killings.

DETENTION

The prison system remained overcrowded 

and prisoners suffered inhuman and 

degrading conditions. The prison population 

reached 727,000 people, 55% of whom were 

aged between 18 and 29 and 64% of whom 

were Afro-descendant, according to the 

Ministry of Justice. A significant proportion – 

40% nationally – of those imprisoned were in 

pre-trial detention, where detainees often 

waited several months to face trial.

In January, riots took place in prisons in 

several states resulting in at least 123 deaths: 

64 in Amazonas state; 31 in Roraima; 26 in 

Rio Grande do Norte; and two in Paraíba.

3

In May, 32 people escaped from Pedrinhas 

prison in Maranhão state; two escapees were 

killed by prison guards.

As a result of extreme overcrowding in 

prisons in Rio Grande do Sul state, some 

people detained by police were held for more 

than 48 hours in unsuitable areas in police 

stations and cars, while waiting for space in 

the prison system.

In October, a man died after being detained 

for a day and a night in an outdoor cage-like 

cell in a police station in Barra do Corda, 

Maranhão state. The cell had no protection 

from the sun or extremely high temperatures, 

leaving detainees at risk of dehydration and 

other dangerous consequences of exposure.

In Rio de Janeiro state, inhumane prison 

conditions were further degraded by the 

financial crisis, putting at risk the supply of 

food, water and medicines for more than 

50,800 prisoners. Tuberculosis and skin 

diseases reached epidemic levels inside the 

state’s prisons.

The 25th anniversary of the Carandiru 

massacre, in which 111 people were killed by 

the police in Carandiru prison, São Paulo, 

was on 2 October. Those responsible for the 

massacre had yet to be held accountable.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

On 31 March, thousands of people protested 

in major cities against proposed reforms to 

labour laws and social security policies. On 

28 April, social movements, students and 

trade unions called for a “general strike” and 

tens of thousands of people protested 

throughout the country after the labour 

reforms were approved. In many areas, 

including Rio de Janeiro city, the police used 

unnecessary and excessive force against 

peaceful protesters.

On 24 May at least 49 people were injured, 

including eight military police officers and 

one man who was shot with a firearm, after 

police used excessive force against protesters 

in the capital, Brasilia. Tens of thousands of 

people protested against President Temer in 

a demonstration that ended in clashes with 

the police and damage to public buildings. 

The federal government called in the military 

to police the area in the following days.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Human rights defenders, especially those in 

rural areas, continued to be threatened, 

attacked and killed. The states of Pará and 

Maranhão were among those where 

defenders were at the highest risk. According 

to the civil society coalition Brazilian 

Committee for Human Rights Defenders, 62 

defenders were killed between January and 

September, an increase from the previous 

year. Most were killed in conflicts over land 

and natural resources. Budget cuts and lack 

of political will to prioritize the protection of 

human rights defenders resulted in the 

dismantling of the National Programme of 

Protection, leaving hundreds exposed to a 

higher risk of attacks.

LAND DISPUTES

On 20 April at least nine men were killed and 

others injured in Colniza, Mato Grosso state, 

after gunmen attacked rural workers in the 

settlement of Taquaruçu do Norte. The 

decade-long trend of frequent, violent attacks 

by gunmen hired by large-scale farmers and 

illegal loggers in the area continued.

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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

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On 24 May, 10 rural workers who were 

camping in the margins of Santa Lucia farm 

in Pau D’Arco, Pará state, were shot dead 

during a joint operation between military and 

civil police officers. On 7 July, one of the 

leaders of the group of rural workers, 

Rosenildo Pereira de Almeida, was shot 

dead. Survivors of the massacre continued to 

fear for their lives following the killings.

In September a group of armed mine 

workers threatened smallholders in the rural 

settlement of Montanha e Mangabal, in the 

Tapajós river region, municipality of Itaituba, 

Pará state.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS

Conflicts over land and invasion by illegal 

loggers and mine workers into Indigenous 

Peoples’ territory continued, resulting in 

several episodes of violence against 

Indigenous people. The government and 

courts undermined the institutional 

framework and national policies, introducing 

further delays in the already slow land 

demarcation process, aggravating conflicts 

over land in Indigenous territories. Data 

published by the Indigenous Missionary 

Council during the year revealed that at least 

118 Indigenous people were killed in 2016.

In January, the Ministry of Justice issued a 

decree changing the land demarcation 

process, making it even slower and more 

vulnerable to pressure from landlords.

In April, at least 22 Indigenous Gamela 

people were attacked by gunmen in Viana, 

Maranhão state; some were shot at, others 

beaten, and two had their hands cut off.

The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry 

into the National Indigenous Foundation 

(FUNAI) and the National Institute for 

Colonization and Agrarian Reform, two 

independent institutions set up by the 

government to protect Indigenous Peoples’ 

rights and promote access to land, presented 

its final report, which was approved by the 

House of Representatives in May. The report 

was a clear attack on Indigenous Peoples’ 

rights and had a direct intent to criminalize 

(including by requesting criminal indictment 

of dozens of people) Indigenous leaders, civil 

society organizations and governmental 

technical bodies working for Indigenous 

Peoples’ rights. Budget cuts to FUNAI 

impacted negatively on its work for the 

protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Indigenous people from Vale do Javari, 

Amazonas state, reported that members of 

isolated Indigenous groups in the area were 

killed during the year. The killings were not 

investigated. Demarcated Indigenous land in 

Vale do Javari was subjected to invasions by 

miners.

RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, 

TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE

According to Bahia Gay Group, 277 LGBTI 

people were killed in Brazil between 1 

January and 20 September, the highest 

number since the group began compiling 

data in 1980.

On 15 February, transgender woman 

Dandara dos Santos was beaten to death in 

Bom Jardim neighbourhood in Fortaleza city. 

According to investigators, at least 12 people 

were involved in her killing. Two men were 

arrested in connection with her killing during 

the year.

In September, a Federal District judge 

authorized psychologists to use unethical and 

harmful so-called “conversion therapies” in 

an attempt to alter individuals’ sexual 

orientation. The decision flouted a resolution 

of the Federal Psychology Council confirming 

that psychologists cannot take any action that 

would “pathologize homosexuality”. The 

judge’s decision contributed to increasing 

stigma and violence against LGBTI people.

A number of proposals at city, state and 

national level sought to prohibit gender and 

sexual orientation-related issues from being 

included in educational materials.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF

Throughout the year, religious centres 

(terreiros) of the Afro-descendant religions 

Umbanda and Candomblé in Rio de Janeiro 

state suffered several attacks by private 

individuals, criminal gangs and members of 

other religions. In August and September, at 

least eight centres were attacked and 

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