E/CN.4/2001/66/Add.2
page 17
45.
Next to the infirmary, where only one detainee was being treated at the time of the visit
of the Special Rapporteur (see annex), the Special Rapporteur saw four inmates having meetings
with so-called technical assistants. The latter are in charge of educational, psychological and
legal aid programmes. They indicated to the Special Rapporteur that they were responsible
for 70 inmates each and were able to speak with each of them only once a week. The
Special Rapporteur nevertheless notes that according to public prosecutors, it was the first time
that such activities were carried out in Franco da Rocha. He also notes that during his visit a
member of his delegation witnessed a discussion between a technical assistant and the chief of
the education programme regarding the fact that the former had been threatened by a monitor.
According to non-governmental organizations, minors are shifted from one social worker to
another all the time and spend so little time with them that no real rehabilitation activities are
carried out. Furthermore, it must be noted that after each revolt, a large number of detainees are
transferred to other FEBEM institutions.
46.
Each cell contained 12 cement beds. At night, detainees were provided with a mattress
and blankets. Cells were well ventilated and quite clean. Each contained a separate section, with
no door but with two showers, two toilets and three taps. A number of detainees complained
about the quality of the food, which appeared to the Special Rapporteur to be poor. No problem
of overcrowding was said to exist in Franco da Rocha.
47.
As mentioned above, detainees claimed that revolts were usually provoked by beatings
from the guards, a claim which was also said to be often heard by public prosecutors and
technical assistants. The latter told the Special Rapporteur that monitores often explained that
“it was a question of knowing who was in charge of the institution, themselves or the inmates”.
The Director of Franco da Rocha recognized that there was a very tense atmosphere and that
conflicts between monitores and inmates were frequent. He recognized that security was a
difficult matter, but denied all allegations of beatings and of provocation by guards. With
respect to the mid-August rebellion, it was reported that the video system in Franco da Rocha
had recorded the incident and could well explain a number of pending issues. The Secretary in
charge of FEBEM told the Special Rapporteur that the tapes were currently being studied by an
internal investigation team.
48.
The Special Rapporteur visited four different wings. In each of them, he received
consistent testimonies of beatings and was able to see the marks left by these beatings (see
annex). A detainee asked the Special Rapporteur to intervene on his behalf to obtain a transfer to
any other institutions where, contrary to Franco da Rocha, detainees are beaten “only if we do
something wrong”. Detainees told the Special Rapporteur the locations of the iron bars and
wooden sticks used by guards to beat them. In particular, they were said to be hidden in small
rooms overlooking the courtyard on the first floor of the main corridor leading to all the various
wings. The Special Rapporteur was able to discover, hidden behind some mattresses and
blankets, a large number of iron bars and wooden sticks consistent with those described by the
alleged victims. Apparently surprised by the presence of such instruments, the Director of
Franco da Rocha explained that they must have been left over from the last revolt and had been
hidden by the inmates themselves. The Special Rapporteur nevertheless noted that only
monitores had access to the rooms where the sticks had been discovered. This was confirmed by
the Director, who then said he believed that the sticks had been hidden on purpose by some of
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