5
8.
That the State reported that the events that took place at the “Dr. Sebastião
Martins Oliveira” Penitentiary (hereinafter, “the Araraquara Penitentiary”, “the
Penitentiary” or “Araraquara”) on July 16, 2006 came about in a context of violence
that first struck the previous month in the state of São Paulo. On May 12, 2006, a
criminal organization coordinated riots in 74 penitentiaries, 19 of which were virtually
destroyed; also, outside of the detention centers, attacks were perpetrated on police
stations and other state buildings, and buses were set on fire. Among other
consequences, such actions caused the destruction of housing for 25,000 prison
inmates in the state of São Paulo. The Military Police took effective action to control
the riots, with no fatal casualties to report. The riot of June 16, 2006 left the
Araraquara Penitentiary virtually destroyed. The Penitentiary housed 1,200 inmates,
who the State was already attempting to transfer to other prison facilities as a
consequence of the May 12, 2006 riot. Given the crisis in the Sao Paulo prison
system, it was impossible to transfer the inmates to other establishments right away;
therefore, a decision was made to initially keep the beneficiaries at the annex of the
Araraquara Penitentiary, as all cell doors and locks had been destroyed.
9.
That, in order to start the reform at the Araraquara Penitentiary, the State
transferred the beneficiaries to other prisons in a responsible, gradual manner, in
groups of one hundred inmates each week, giving priority to inmates who were
undergoing medical treatment, as per a schedule approved by the Judiciary of São
Paulo and widely publicized by the Brazilian press. For the transfers, the State
considered those detention centers which offered the best conditions for the inmates
to serve their sentences; personal relocation requests, and proximity to the inmates’
families. On September 20, 2006, the transfer of all inmates was completed without
any death or attack on the personal integrity of the beneficiaries.
10.
That the Araraquara Penitentiary’s reconstruction and reform process was
completed less than one year after the riot, and demanded an investment of USD 10
million. Currently, the Penitentiary operates within its capacity, housing 1,500 people.
Of the 1,200 original beneficiaries, 732 are still detained in prisons in the State of São
Paulo;6 54 remain in Araraquara, and the rest are housed in 72 other prisons. Brazil
argued that it has ensured the protection of the life and physical integrity of the
beneficiaries, even in the face of the extreme situation created by the riots in May and
June of 2006, and that the situation which led to the adoption of these provisional
measures has already ended. Lastly, the State provided the Court with lists containing
the names of the beneficiaries, the facilities where they are currently detained,
individual medical reports, and records of visitations to the beneficiaries, among other
information.
11.
That, lastly, as regards the beneficiaries’ current situation, the State
expressed, inter alia, that all correctional facilities administrated by the Secretariat of
Penitentiary Administration of the State of São Paulo (hereinafter, the “Secretariat of
Penitentiary Administration”, or “SAP”) have a Social Reintegration and Health Care
Center; that visitations by family members, attorneys and representatives were not
suspended, but merely restricted as a result of the riot. As regards the investigation of
6
The State noted that 279 beneficiaries were released by a court order; 117 were placed in home
confinement to serve the remainder of their sentences; 65 broke out of the centers where they were
imprisoned; 1 was relocated to a different state in the Federation, and 6 passed away.