PN #66 - In solidarity with prisoners in plenary session of the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo

The Arns Commission stands in solidarity with the protesters who were assaulted and detained by São Paulo State Military Police officers on December 6, 2023, during a plenary session of the São Paulo State Legislative Assembly (Alesp), subsequently charged with resisting arrest and bodily injury, and held in custody by the São Paulo judiciary.

This episode highlights the weaknesses in the military police's intervention in the face of the protesters, leading to the arrest of Hendryll Luiz Rodrigues de Brito Silva and Lucas Borges Carvente.

Now that the conflict between protesters and military police officers has been overcome, the judicial authorities' decision to maintain the detention is unjustified, and reaffirms the overuse of the prison system for unnecessary situations, considering that São Paulo has the largest prison population in Brazil, with 196,287 prisoners, 25% of whom have not been convicted of a crime and could be tried in freedom for minor offenses, as in the case in question.

The Arns Commission expresses its concern about the current criminal policy, considering the disproportionate measure to maintain the imprisonment of Hendryll and Lucas, protesters who have suffered assaults in the conflict with military police officers.

For their immediate release!