CAT/C/39/2
page 75
319. Therefore, taking into consideration the exceptional character of these regimes, there is no
reason to raise the question of human rights violation. The Brazilian Government has no interest
in broadening the application of differentiated regimes, which require complex operation and are
expensive however, in the face of concrete circumstances, such regimes have proved the best
solution to contain serious situations arising inside the prisons.
320. Despite the fact that this is not the ideal situation, when facing extreme conditions, e.g the
risk to human lives, one must ponder the values involved and mitigate the application of some in
order that others may prevail. Thus it is necessary the application of a stricter regime to certain
persons during a certain time, so as to prevent them to continue masterminding criminal schemes
from inside the prisons, provoking rebellions, causing deaths and physical harm, as usually
happens when more rigid measures are not in place.
321. One must also stress that there is no punitive aim in the isolation to which the inmate may
be subjected, and much less the objective of meting out ill treatment. As stated before, such
measures are exceptional and their ultimate aim is to protect supreme individual values, chiefly
the right to life. Besides, the federal penitentiaries where these regimes are usually applied,
possess excellent structure in accordance with international standards for persons deprived of
freedom. It is also fundamental to emphasize that the legislation on RDD ensures the right of
inmates to weekly 2 hour visits by two persons, not counting their children, to daily 2 hour
sunbathing and is without prejudice to their rights to contact with their legal counsel.
“193. The Committee members received numerous allegations from NGOs concerning
abuses in psychiatric detention centres. However, the Committee members did not visit
these centres as they did not have medical expertise required for their assessment and
therefore cannot draw conclusions based on its own observations.”
322. The Government abstains from commenting this paragraph, since the Committee did not
verify such allegations.
“194. Generally, forensic institutes and their doctors are economically dependent of the
police authorities. Thus, most States lack an independent forensic institute. Considering
that most allegations of torture and ill-treatment are against police agents, this lack of
independence can seriously compromise a diligent and prompt forensic examination with
accurate results. In addition, it has been repeatedly reported that all forensic institutes do
not have sufficient financial, technical and human resources to carry out their functions
adequately.”
323. Besides investments already made or foreseen in the formation of public security
professionals, the Brazilian Government has set up a working Group at the Ministry of Justice
with the aim of elaborating a plan for the modernization of civil police in Brazil. The group is
composed of civil police officers from the states and has proposed the reorganization of
procedural methods and the redefinition of doctrines to establish a national alignment. Within
this perspective, the autonomy of the forensic institutes is under discussion, both with forensic
professionals and with unions.
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