Nos tempos que correm é mais que grato ler o artigo de Silvia Vieira, jovem advogada, publicado pela revista do International Bar Association's Human Rigths Law Working Group. Infelizmente poucos são os jornais que prestigiam trabalho como este que vem sendo realizado por advogados brasileiros que honram sua profissão. O escândalo tem falado mais alto do que o direito, do que o humano, do que o correto. Nos últimos anos de meus longevos 84 constantemente me fazem uma estranha pergunta: porque você ainda acredita que pode dar certo?! E agora, confiante, respondo: por que Silvias existem!
Newsletter of the International Bar
Association’s Human Rights Law Working Group, a Subcommittee of the Rule of Law
Action Group VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2
SEPTEMBER 2014 PART II
Right to assembly: the role of Brazilian
lawyers in the defence of human rights during Brazil’s June 2013 protest
Silvia Vieira*
Human rights, conflict mediation and
peace culture specialist.
Rio de Janeiro
silviacvieira@gmail.com
In June 2013, Brazil saw the countrywide eruption
of what has been claimed by scholars and researchers as the most important
popular demonstrations in its recent history.[1]
The protests were initially motivated by dissatisfaction with the rise in bus
fares in São Paulo, as reported by CNN, Jornal do Brasil and several other media outlets.[2]
The protestors’ demands regarding bus
fares first appeared to be ineffective due to the refusal of the state governor
and mayor to address them. Yet, when police forces violently suppressed the
protestors, events took an unexpected turn.
When scenes of
police brutality against the protesters spread across the internet (as can be
seen in a compilation of videos put together by CNN reporters)[3]
crowds started flooding the streets in several of Brazil’s most important
cities. A survey carried out by Datafolha Research Institute shows that these
demonstrations were mainly organised through social media (85 per cent of
interviewees said that they got information about the demonstrations from the
internet)[4],
with millions of people[5]
going into the streets
demonstrating for social and political
change. The same survey by Datafolha shows that 53 per cent of protestors were
under 25, and the majority of them were between 26 and 35 years of age.[6]
Moods became even
more inflamed as police brutality increased. With no regard for national or international
laws or regulations protecting the protestors’ right to peaceful assembly and
protest, such as the Brazilian Federal Constitution, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International Declaration of Chapultepec and the American
Declaration on Human Rights (also known as the ‘Pact of’ San José de Costa Rica),[7]
the streets became a battlefield and police violence was indiscriminately
directed to all protestors, including women and journalists.[8]
Within a few days the bus fare increases had been revoked, but the inflamed masses
did not retreat.[9] The movement’s agenda was not uniform and: ‘Each participant held up his small sign with
a proposal, a criticism, a demand, in formal language or with humour, whether
it was against homophobia or the technocratic authoritarianism of governments. Meanwhile,
in spite of the immense thematic spectrum, some topics were constants: public transportation,
urban mobility, corruption, police brutality, unequal access to justice, more
resources for education and health and fewer resources for lavish stadium buildings
for the 2014 World Cup or the 2016 Olympics.’[10]
The protests saw a
significant increase in police violence, as officers attempted to restrain and
silence protestors.[11]
The police response was particularly brutal in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.[12]
The repertoire of excessive violence included beatings, the use of pepper spray
and stun grenades, the use of tear gas inside hospitals and restaurants, the unlawful
and violent detention of protesters, and the firing of rubber bullets at close range.[13]
A report written by NGO Conectas Human Rights contains a list with photos and detailed
information of injured protesters.[14]
According to the
Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (Brazil’s Association of
Investigative Journalism, ABRAJI), journalists covering the protests were
beaten or hit by non-lethal rubber
bullets.[15] The ABRAJI issued a
report, declaring they came across 113 cases of violence against journalists,
70 of which involved deliberate aggression towards the victims. In two separate
incidents, two young journalists (photographer Sérgio Andrade da Silva from Futura
Press Agency, and Giuliana Vallone, a reporter from Folha de São Paulo, one of Brazil’s biggest daily newspapers) were hit in
the eye by rubber bullets. Both of them were severely hurt.[16]
In a declaration published in the mainstream media and on her Facebook page,
Giuliana Vallone said that she was at a car park, helping an injured woman, and
that she was carrying her professional identification, when she saw the policeman
aiming at close range. She stood still, never believing he would fire at her. He
did – directly at her eye.[17]
Sérgio Andrade da Silva was even less fortunate, now blind in his left eye as
consequence of his incident.[18]
Although weapons
used by the police were non-lethal, they can cause profound and serious
injuries. The use of these weapons outside the sphere of self-defence is
condemned worldwide by human rights organisations such as Amnesty
International, who issued a statement on the subject.[19]
A document signed[20]
by activists from 11 countries and by eight human rights organisations from six
countries, meeting in São Paulo during the XIII International Colloquium of
Human Rights organised by Conectas Human Rights, condemned the irresponsible
use of non-lethal weapons, and called for the police and authorities responsible
for the violations to be held to account.20 Everyone who participated in these demonstrations
became an eyewitness (if not a victim) of police brutality. Numerous videos were
recorded and uploaded to social media by those present at the protests.
Recordings appeared almost simultaneously with the events as they were
occurring on the ground.
Lawyers’ response
Faced with this
astounding reaction by the police forces, many lawyers volunteered to organise
a response in defence of their fellow citizens. Attorneys rushed to police stations
where large groups of young people had been arrested.[21]
These demonstrators had also suffered violent treatment and were prevented
contact with their families or legal representatives.[22]
As stated by Thiago Melo, a lawyer from the Instituto de Defensores de Direitos
Humanos (Human Rights Defenders Institute) to Carta Capital, efforts were made by
the police to isolate the protesters, part of a deliberate strategy to
demobilise the protests.[23]
The legal response
began without a clear strategy. Recently, both graduates and more
experienced lawyers gathered at organizations
such as the Brazilian Bar Association in an attempt to develop legal strategies
to protect protestors’ rights and the correct application of the Brazilian
Constitution and legal framework. What united each of these lawyers was the
defence of the democratic rule of law, by guaranteeing the legality of acts of
the government and preserving the fundamental right to free expression.[24]
These teams, some
of which included more than 50 volunteer lawyers, quickly implemented a number
of responses that included the following:
• They organised day and overnight
duties in various organisations, such as the Brazilian Bar Association, and
were given access to meeting rooms, telephone lines and general support. In
addition, the lawyers offered the use of their personal mobile phones;.
• Two days before each event, they
selected and gathered a group of lawyers to follow
up a particular demonstration.
• They informed the population, through social
media, that they were going to be on duty during the demonstrations and provided
ways for people to contact them.
• They monitored news sites and social
media to keep track of information regarding the demonstrations.
• They arranged for groups of lawyers to
be on duty at police stations to offer legal assistance to arrested protestors.
Beyond these
efforts, lawyers took to the streets alongside the protestors. In some cases,
they put themselves on the front lines of the demonstrations, forming a
security and protection cordon in front of cornered protester groups, with
their professional identifications in their hands.[25]
Many lawyers were seriously injured
while doing so. Footage shows the moment a lawyer tries to stop the police from
attacking a group of protesters and is beaten by several officers. [26]
Since then, these
groups have proved to be a new non-governmental instrument of legal and political
action. Habeas Corpus RJ, Advogados Ativistas (Activists Lawyers) and Coletivo
de Advogados do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro Group of Lawyers) are some of
the most prominent groups. Most of them created some common ground rules as can
be seen on the Advogados Ativistas website and on the Habeas Corpus RJ Facebook
page.[27]
As a result of the rules, lawyers cannot, inter alia: be part of any social
movement or political party; receive any funding, sponsorship, donation or
payment; or receive any salary or financial reward for the services provided. [28]
The legal and
physical protection of protesters was of obvious fundamental importance; yet
the work of these teams of lawyers had an important symbolic value for democracy,
human rights and the full and peaceful exercise of citizenship.
Most recent developments
One year after the
June 2013 demonstrations, some legal teams have expanded and deepened their
work to include – but not limited to – organising online petitions.
Other activities have included meeting with
government authorities, civil society representatives, international
nongovernmental organisations such as Amnesty International, and participating
in public hearings regarding public security and democracy in Brazil.[29]
The lawyer
activists of São Paulo, for example, petitioned in court that the tactic called
‘kettling’ should not be used again in protests.[30]
Kettling[31] consists of forming cordons
around amassed protestors, making them more vulnerable to targeted violence. In
addition, the São Paulo group asked the police to follow demonstrations from a
distance of one hundred meters and requested that the police did not unfairly
obstruct demonstrators, did not perform arrests for investigation, nor hindered
journalists and lawyers during demonstrations.
In recent weeks, as
the country prepared to host the World Cup, thousands of protesters took to the
streets in Brazil once again.[32]
Several legislative proposals that could be used to restrict the right to protest
are under consideration by the Brazilian Congress. As detailed in the Conectas
Report,[33]
these proposals range from banning the wearing of masks during demonstrations
to requiring organizers of demonstrations to notify authorities in advance.
Among such restrictive measures – which, despite their restrictive nature, can still
be reconciled with issues arising from public order and safety concerns – there
are some more worrying ones. The Conectas report, for example, highlights how
the existing definition of the crime of terrorism would impact upon protestors’
rights to gather peacefully.[34]
The Federal Constitution of 1988 assured, as one of its fundamental principles,
the repudiation of terrorism (Article 4, VIII) and has also forbidden bail, grace
or amnesty for their practice (Article 5, XLIII). The document, however, does
not define what ‘terrorism’ would consist of. The six propositions dedicated to
the crime of terrorism are excessively vague in defining the elements of the
crime, limiting the definition to ‘conduct that causes “panic” or “fear” in the
population’.[35] Leaving the definitions
so vague and subjective can open the possibility to variable interpretations according
to the place, context and the people involved, an aggravated risk of criminalisation
of social movements.
The legacy
Protestors were
greatly and positively affected by the lawyers’ spontaneous and voluntary mobilisation
for the protection of human rights. A new group of volunteers, imbued with this
spirit, has been created to carry on the legacy of this spontaneous
mobilisation: a group called the Legal Observers.[36]
This group’s mission was to observe, report and produce data on security agents
involved in demonstrations during and after the World Cup in Brazil. The
individuals participating in this group do not need to be lawyers. The Legal
Observers are collecting quantitative and qualitative data for use by courts, domestic
and international human rights organisations and the press.[37]
Conclusion
After 21 years of
dictatorship, a new democratic constitution was enacted in Brazil as recently
as 1988. As a relatively new democracy, Brazil is facing a completely new
political and legal situation. After what has, for a long time, been felt as
political silence, the actions of these lawyers and guardians of fundamental
rights have finally allowed for a turn in the public conscience. A lawyer’s
protection serves as a reference and basis for the population to continue to
discover, enjoy and reorganize itself through direct democracy. Restoring its
credibility and ability to take lead of the political and social situation of
the country, the legal profession has shown its capacity for political action
without mediation by institutions, parties and representatives. Lawyers in
Brazil have shown the importance of the protection of the means so the ends may
be constructed and discovered. As Luiz Eduardo Soares said: ‘The times are of
unpredictability and fright, risks and threats, but also beauty: the new
insinuating itself through the cracks of our democracy which suffers from premature
sclerosis.’[38]
Notes
* Silvia Vieira is a lawyer specialising
in human rights, conflict mediation, restorative justice, peace education and
peace culture. Vieira is member of the UNESCO International Leadership Forum
Planning Committee and Coordinator of Communication, Conflict Resolution and
Cooperative Planning Projects for Education at Planetapontocom – Innovation for
Education. She has worked as Deputy Executive Director and Justice and Conflict
Mediation Coordinator at ISER – Instituto de Estudos da Religião – a human
rights and research NGO, and as Chief of Staff and Projects Coordinator at Secretaria
de Valorização da Vida e Prevenção da Violencia of Nova Iguaçu (Human Rights
and Violence Prevention Municipal Office).
1 Research carried out by the political
scientist and constitutionalist, Júlio Aurélio Vianna Lopes, exposes and highlights
the importance of the demonstrations since June 2013. His book is called Desafios da Ordem de 1988 (1988’s Order Challenges).
2 CNN Report: www.cnn.com/2013/06/14/world/americas/brazil-fare-protests
and http://ireport.cnn.
com/docs/DOC-988431.
Jornal
do Brasil:
www.jb.com.br/retrospectiva-2013/noticias/2013/12/17/retrospectiva-manifestacoes-de-junho-agitaram-todo-opais/
UOL:
http://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ ultimas-noticias/2013/06/20/em-dia-de-maiormobilizacao-
protestos-levam-centenas-de-milhares-asruas- no-brasil.htm.
3
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1001540; the videos were (mainly) not spread
across the internet by journalists or press members but by the protesters and
posted on social media sites.
4
http://media.folha.uol.com.br/datafolha/2013/06/19/protestos-aumento-tarifa-ii.pdf.
5http://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimasnoticias/2013/06/20/em-dia-de-maior-mobilizacaoprotestos-levam-centenas-de-milhares-as-ruas-no-brasil.htm.
This article says that: ‘…protests took
more than one million people to the streets in Brazil’. The online journal A Nova Democracia (The New Democracy) ran the headline: ‘One Million on the streets of Rio’,
www. anovademocracia.com.br/no-113/4819-um-milhao-nasruas-do-rio.
6 Globo online newspaper: Timeline of the demonstrations: http://g1.globo.com/brasil/linha-tempomanifestacoes-2013/platb/.
Report from the biggest demonstration that took place on 20 June: http://g1. globo.com/brasil/noticia/2013/06/protestos-pelo-paistem-125-milhao-de-pessoas-um-morto-e-confrontos.html.
7 Article V of the Brazilian Federal
Constitution, as well as the international treaties mentioned above (of which Brazil
is a signatory), establishes that it is guaranteed to Brazilians and foreigners
residing in the country, among other rights, the inviolability of the right to
life, liberty, equality, security, that no one shall be subjected to torture,
nor to inhuman or degrading treatment, the inviolability of human dignity
(physical, mental and emotional), freedom of opinion and expression of thought,
and that everyone has the right to peaceful assembly, in places open to the
public, regardless of authorisation.
8 Violence against women:
www.revistaforum.com.br/blog/2014/07/violencia-gratuita-flagrada-pm-rio-agridemulher-e-fotografo/.
Violence against journalists:
www.sipiapa.org/pt-br/jornalistas-sao-feridos-e-detidos-pelapolicia-durante-manifestacao-em-sao-paulo/.
9 Luiz Eduardo Soares, a Brazilian
political scientist and anthropologist wrote in an article called: ‘Brazil: The
Ground Shakes in the Country of Inequalities and Paradoxes’ written for the Los Angeles Review of Books, 1 July 2013.
10 Ibid.
11 www.revistaforum.com.br/blog/2013/08/sabia-queexistia-a-violencia-policial-mas-nunca-tinha-sentido-napele/.
12
www.revistaforum.com.br/blog/2013/10/ato-de-protestodos-jornalistas-ganha-adesoes-e-traz-novas-cenas-daviolencia-policial/.
Depositions from several injured protesters:
www.anovademocracia.com.br/no-114/4850-rjdepoimentos-dos-presos-e-feridos-nos-protestos;
www.ebc.com.br/sites/default/files/eles_usam_uma_estrategia_de_medo_-protecao_do_direito_ao_protesto_no_brasil.pdf.
Report from Conectas Human Rights to the
UN about the police violence against protesters:
www.conectas.org/arquivos-site/URGENT%20APPEAL%20_viol%C3%AAncia%20policial%2018%2006%202013_FL_JK%20(3)%20(1).pdf.
14 www.conectas.org/arquivos/editor/files/Dossiê%20Versão%20FINAL%20rev%20final%20-%2028_03f.pdf.
15 The report published on the ABAJI
website includes a link to a document containing a spreadsheet with a list of the
names of the journalists injured, the organisation they work for and the date
of the demonstration they were covering: www.abraji.org.br/?id=90&id_noticia=2687.
16 Ibid.
17
http://g1.globo.com/sao-paulo/noticia/2013/06/reporter-da-folha-atingida-por-bala-diz-que-oculossalvaram-seu-olho.html.
The following media sites also reported
her declaration: www.pragmatismopolitico.com.br/2013/06/o-depoimento-de-giuliana-vallone-jornalistaatingida-no-olho-pela-pm.html
and http://sao-paulo.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,reporter-ferida-diz-queteve-
hemorragia-no-olho,1042398. In an
interview called ‘Sérgio and his little gift’ given to the website Outras
Palavras, Sérgio explains how he is trying to adapt his life and cope with the
difficulties of being blind in one eye:
http://outraspalavras.net/posts/sergio-e-sua-lembrancinha/. In another interview given to the newspaper O Dia, he describes what happened that day and the trauma
of losing his eye:
http://odia.ig.com.br/noticia/brasil/2014-06-03/ainda-tenho-trauma-deprotestos-diz-fotografo-que-perdeu-olho-um-ano-atras.html.
19
www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR19/005/2014/en/a24cd3fa-c32f-4e28-984a-d57dab154532/
amr190052014pt.pdf. See also:
http://advogadosativistas.com/anistia-internacional-lanca-protesto-mundial-contraviolencia-estatal-nas-manifestacoes/ and: www.conectas.org/pt/acoes/midia/noticia/15049-agencia-publicapergunte-a-pm.
20www.conectas.org/arquivos/editor/files/Nota%20sobre%20criminaliza%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20dos%20
protestos_%20(2).pdf.
21 Report from the petition made by
human rights NGO, Justiça Global, to the Organisation of American States (OAS)
about the illegal arrests of protesters: http://
global.org.br/programas/prisoes-arbitrarias-realizadas-nasmanifestacoes-no-rio-de-janeiro-sao-denunciadas-a-oea/.
22 Report from the petition made by
human rights NGO, Justiça Global, in March 2014 to the Organisation of American
States (OAS) about the illegal arrests of protesters:
http://global.org.br/programas/prisoesarbitrarias-realizadas-nas-manifestacoes-no-rio-de-janeirosao-denunciadas-a-oea/
and
http://global.org.br/programas/prisoes-arbitrarias-realizadas-nasmanifestacoes-no-rio-de-janeiro-sao-denunciadas-a-oea/.
23
www.cartacapital.com.br/revista/789/advogados-semdefesa-8244.html. Interview
‘Lawyers Without Defence’ issued on the Carta Capital website in March 2014.
24 For Brazilian lawyers, this fight is
part of the professional oath.
25
Report from Advogados Ativistas:
http://advogadosativistas.com/relato-de-violacoes-aos-direitoshumanos-15-de-abril-de-2014-2/.
26
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt4sTyLcvEc.
27 Habeas Corpus RJ Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/novohabeascorpus.
28 Adogados Ativistas (Lawyers
Activists) web page with the statement about its ground rules: http://
advogadosativistas.com/quem-somos/.
29 The petition can be downloaded from:
www.cartacapital.com.br/sociedade/advogados-ativistas-pedem-garantia-dedireitos-em-protesto-contra-copa-7240.html/mandado-deseguranca-iii-ato-contra-a-copa.pdf-327.html;
www.redebrasilatual.com.br/cidadania/2014/03/assembleiapopular-amplia-articulacoes-e-define-protestos-contraretrocesso-democratico-2331.html.
30 http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/policia/sp-advogadospedem-liminar-contra-abuso-da-pm-em-protesto,3d5d69a3108b4410VgnVCM10000098cceb0aRCRD.html;
www.jb.com.br/pais/noticias/2014/03/12/sp-advogados-pedemliminar-contra-abuso-da-pm-em-protesto/.
31 According to the Conectas Human
Rights report, this is a tactic used to control crowds at events consisting of
broad police cordons that confine protesters to a certain area, and they may be
isolated within this cordon for hours without access to water, food or toilet
facilities: http://advogadosativistas.com/metodo-kettling-como-prender-262-pessoas-aleatoriamente/;
http://advogadosativistas.com/video-revela-como-foi-a-acao-da-policia-durantemetodo-kettling/.
32 A timeline made of the 2014 main
protests and the police violence: www.revistaforum.com.br/blog/2014/07/o-desequilibrio-e-violencia-policial-em-seismeses-e-20-casos/.
Report from Advogados Ativistas about protests that took place in June 2014:
http://advogadosativistas.com/while-brazil-plays-democracy-isthe-one-in-play-state-of-emergency-during-the-footbalworld-cup/.
33
www.conectas.org/arquivos/editor/files/Dossi%C3%AA%20Vers%C3%A3o%20FINAL%20rev%20
final%20-%2028_03f.pdf.
34
www.conectas.org/arquivos/editor/files/Dossi%C3%AA%20Vers%C3%A3o%20FINAL%20rev%20
final%20-%2028_03f.pdf.
35 pp 99–119 of the Conectas Human
Rights report:
www.conectas.org/arquivos/editor/files/Dossi%C3%AA%20Vers%C3%A3o%20FINAL%20rev%20final%20-%2028_03f.pdf.
36
http://advogadosativistas.com/observadoreslegais/;https://www.facebook.com/midiaNINJA/
posts/317289428429209;
37
http://advogadosativistas.com/while-brazil-playsdemocracy-is-the-one-in-play-state-of-emergency-duringthe-footbal-world-cup/;
http://advogadosativistas.com/international-human-rights-observer-is-attacked-bybrazilian-police-in-world-cup-riots/.
38 Interview given to the Brasilian
Newspaper Estado de Minas, published on 22 June 2013.
