STATE OF EXCEPTION IN GOIÁS

Official Statement of the PROLUTA Research Project

 

State of Exception in Goiás, Brazil

The Activism Research Program in Comparative Perspective (PROLUTA) of the Federal University of Goiás expresses its disavowal and indignation before offensive acts to the democracy and respect for civil rights perpetrated by the public authorities - Executive, Judiciary and Public Prosecutor’s Office - of the State of Goiás, against four undergraduate students who participated in peaceful protests in favor of the reduction of bus fares in the state capital.

At six o'clock a.m., May 23^th, 2014, the Civil Police of the state of Goiás triggered an operation called "2.80", with the intention of putting down peaceful activists who demand reasonable rates of the public urban transportation. Four students, with ages between 18 and 19, had their homes stormed, in fulfillment of search and seizure and arrest warrants issued by the 7^th Criminal Court of Goiânia. One of these students, Ian Caetano de Oliveira, is a researcher of Proluta and nationally known for his discipline, earnestness and academic aptitude.

The students had their homes stormed by police officers and, among other objects supposedly identified as criminal evidence, they seized academic books, such as “Rebel Cities" published by renowned Brazilian publisher Boitempo. The students were later handcuffed in clear disregard for the Binding Judicial Precedent number 11 of the Brazilian Supreme Court, and they were taken to a police station specialized in organized crimes, where they were sent to a common prison, where they remain up to this day.

The criminal investigation underlying the pre-trial detention of the students is Kafkaesque. There is no evidence whatsoever regarding the alleged conduct of the students, just some compilations of pamphlets and flyers advocating changes in the pricing policy of public transportation, extracted from social networks. Conversely, there is plenty reference to the "subversive" qualities in their practices and the characterization of the Fighting Front against Bus Fare Increase as a "criminal organization". Yes, in 2014 young students are in a prison, with no prospect of release, just because they participated, peacefully, in some social manifestations.

PROLUTA blames the Executive and the Judiciary of the State of Goiás, as well as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for the process of criminalization of social movements, for restraining the exercise of civil rights and public demonstrations, and for implementing, in this federative unit, a state of exception. We demand the immediate release of the students in regard to constitutional and democratic order that was and still is severely violated.