250 patriots remain in prison in Brazil, most without charges or trial for peacefully and patriotically protesting what they see as a stolen election in Brazil. Many were arrested after protests got out of hand Fedsurrection-style in the capital Brasilía Jan. 8, regardless of whether they committed a crime or not. Chief Serere Xavante remains in prison without trial after 220 days, acccused of “Incitement”, which carries a 3- to 6-month penalty.
Prisoners in Brasília are being tortured, humiliated and threatened with death, one writes to his lawyer. “Last week a police officer threatened one of us with death in the cell, said he would kill him and even pointed a gun from what I heard. They were desperate.”
“They told me that besides the death threat that occurred from a police officer last week, yesterday they were subjected to a terrible humiliation,” the prisoner reports. “Patriots were beaten, slapped in the face, and dragged by their ears. They removed their belongings from the cell, threw their soap and toothpaste in the trash. They were forced to get naked in the courtyard, and they made an older man squat down. He was crying desperately.”
Letter from a political prisioner from the Papuda Prison in Brasilia.@gatewaypundithttps://t.co/sY1Tp1jeH2
— Liga Conservadora Brasil-Alemanha (@FarajSittel) July 19, 2023
A letter from Papuda prison reached Samia Sittel-Faraj from the Brazilian Conservative League, which reads:
“The patriots imprisoned in Papuda and Colmeia prisons ask for help. We have been imprisoned for over 135 days and there is no release date. (The letter was received in June – it is now 189 days.) Our situation is getting worse and worse. They are now mixing us with the common prisoners, with criminals, drug dealers, thieves, murderers, mass murderers, rapists and pedophiles. Out of 168 hours in the week, we spend 163 inside our cells, in terrible sanitary conditions. We are locked in cells designed for 8 inmates, that now contain 14. In the beginning, there were as many as 20 prisoners in a cell, and they didn’t let us out in the sun for week. We had to stay in the overcrowded cells.”
“The food is very bad,” the prisoner writes, “It is poorly prepared and contains zero protein, the vegetables are not peeled and served with seeds, stalks, dirt and all. Most of the time it is soy animal feed, tastes terrible, smells bad and is served spoiled, soured or burnt. It is very dirty and mixed with all kinds of dirt and garbage, such as wood, stone, plastic, hair, gloves, glass, cardboard, and pig’s teeth. It looks like pig swill. This explains the massive weight loss that is becoming very serious, even life-threatening for all of us. Most have lost 10 to 27 kilos (22 to lbs.), approx. one third of our body weight.”
“We implore you to help get us out of here urgently, before worse happens”, the prisoner writes. “There are already patriots who are losing it, who are depressed and suicidal. In Colmeia woman’s prison, there is a woman with breast cancer who first lost one breast and now the other one. She cannot walk or do anything. She has lost her strength and will to live. There is another female patriot prisoner whose husband is in Papuda prison, and she is in Colmeia. They have 3 children, 2, 3 and 6 years old, and their grandmother is struggling to take care of the 3 children because she has no resources. There is another female patriot prisoner who just lost her mother and cannot even go to the funeral.”
“Dear Patriots of the World, for God’s sake, please help us. Freedom for all the Patriots, men and women, fathers of families, home providers, honest workers, and good citizens! Please help the Patriots in Brazil. Please share this message worldwide so the whole world can hear the cry for help from the Brazilian political prisoners. Let everyone know that Brazil now hunts conservatives.”
The lawyer representing indigenous chief, pastor and protest leader Serere Xavante, who was arrested in front of his family Dec. 12, 2022 (Gateway reported), has protested the fact his client is being held without charges, while suffering from a severe medical condition.
Lawyer Geovane Veras Pessoa protested that Chief Serere was arrested on orders of Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes as “Preventive Detention”, although De Moraes had no jurisdiction.
“The absurdity is that Chief Serere has been imprisoned for 229 days without the Deputy Attorney General of the Republic’s Complaint being formally accepted by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, meaning there is no ongoing Criminal Action”, Veras Pessoa writes. “Chief Serere remains incarcerated solely based on an investigation initiated by Minister Alexandre de Moraes himself, despite serious health problems, as he is a type 2 diabetes patient.”
Veras Pessoa calls it “a cruel, humiliating, and embarrassing treatment to keep an indigenous person, protected by the law, deprived of their freedom, serving an arbitrarily extended sentence beyond what the law prescribes.” The attorney calls this “a classic and blatant affront to the dignity of a human being, inflicted on an indigenous person” noting that the offense of Incitement Serere is accused of “carries a penalty that can be converted into a simple fine.” The attorney calls this “lamentable and shameful.“
Speaking to the Deputy Attorney General of Brazil, Dr. Lindora, Veras Pessoa expressed his “dissatisfaction with the successive abuses committed by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, in not granting freedom to Chief Serere”. He complained that “improper food” contributed to weight loss. As “ a type 2 diabetes patient, he experiences blurred vision, leg tremors, dry mouth, and testicular pain.”
Chief Serere is the father of six children, Veras Pessoa notes, “four of whom are minors and two are adults who depend on him for their subsistence, as well as a pastor in three Evangelical Churches, where he preaches the Word of God. At home, Serere did important work caring for indigenous natives suffering from depression, drugs and alcohol.
“He is suffering greatly in prison since his natural habitat is in nature, in contact with his people, their customs, and culture, where he can be adequately nourished”, Veras Pessoa writes…. Additionally, it should be noted that the Cacique suffers from depression and panic attacks, requiring weekly medical follow-ups. His anxiety attacks have been constant, as he is unable to sleep, and he is not receiving the necessary medications or health professional support. HIS IMPRISONMENT POSES SERIOUS RISKS TO HIS PHYSICAL, PSYCHIC, AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. Moreover, his status as an indigenous person, protected by the Indigenous Statute, entitles Chief Serere to better treatment.”
The approx. 1000 Jan. 8 prisoners who have been freed are required to wear ankle bracelets, prohibited from using social media, contacting other patriots, and are confined to house arrest on weekends and in the evenings. May lost their jobs because of their ankle bracelets, being unable to work as drivers or traveling salesmen. The first trials are scheduled for December, when they are threatened with sentences between 4 to 30 years in jail.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes wants to force social media companies to inform on their users in Brazil, including who they like and follow, such as former President Jair Bolsonaro. De Moraes’ Judicial Police continues to raid patriots in their homes and arrest them.