Many federal government ministers, like Annalena Baerbock, are making a pilgrimage to Brazil this year to visit the left-wing extremist President Inacio Lula da Silva, who has a criminal record, and to campaign for “democracy and human rights”, “climate” and the indigenous population. Despite their »value-based foreign policy«, they always refrain from standing up for the more than 250 political prisoners in Brazil, including the chief Serere Xavante (photo), who is suffering from severe health problems.
250 opposition figures remain in prison in Brazil, most without charge or trial, for peacefully protesting what they say was a stolen Brazilian election.
Many have been arrested, whether they have committed a crime or not, after protests that spiraled out of control in the capital Brasília on January 8 under questionable circumstances. Chief Serere Xavante remains in prison without trial for 220 days. He is only accused of »instigating«, which entails a sentence of 3 to 6 months. So Chief Serere should be out by now. Unfortunately, Annalena Baerbock didn’t even mention him during her visit to Brazil.
The political prisoners are being tortured, humiliated and threatened with death in prison in Brasília, one of them writes to his lawyer. ‘Last week a policeman threatened to kill one of us in the cell. He said he would kill him and showed a gun. They were desperate.”
“Apart from the death threat made by a police officer last week, they were subjected to terrible humiliation yesterday,” the prisoner said. “Oppositionists were beaten, slapped and their ears pulled. Their belongings were taken away, their soap and toothpaste thrown in the trash. They were forced to strip naked in the yard, and they forced an elderly man to squat. He cried in despair.”
A letter arrived Samia Sittel-Faraj by the Brazilian Conservative League Germany from Papuda prison, stating:
“Oppositionists detained in Papuda (men) and Colmeia (women) prisons are begging for help. We have been detained for over 135 days and there is no release date (the letter was received in June – now it is 190 days). Our situation is getting worse and worse. Now we are being lumped together with the ordinary prisoners, with criminals, drug dealers, thieves, murderers, mass murderers, rapists and pedophiles. Out of 168 hours a week, we spend 163 in our cells, in terrible hygienic conditions. We are confined in cells designed for 8 that now hold 14 inmates. In the beginning there were even 20 prisoners in a cell. They didn’t let us out in the sun for a week. We had to stay in the overcrowded cells.«
“The food is terrible,” writes the prisoner. ‘It’s poorly prepared and doesn’t contain any protein. The vegetables are unpeeled and served with seeds, stems, dirt and all. Most often it is soy animal feed that tastes awful, smells bad, and is served spoiled, sour, or burnt. It’s very dirty and mixed with all kinds of dirt and junk like wood, stone, plastic, hair, gloves, glass, cardboard and pig teeth. It looks like pig feed. This explains the massive weight loss that is becoming life threatening for all of us. Most have lost 25 to 60 pounds, about a third of our body weight.”
“We urge you to help us before anything worse happens,” writes the prisoner. “There are already political prisoners who are going crazy, who are depressed and suicidal. In Colmeia women’s prison there is a woman with breast cancer who first lost one breast and now the other. She cannot walk, she can’t do anything. She has lost her strength and will to live. There is another female political prisoner whose husband is in Papuda prison and she is in Colmeia. They have 3 children, 2, 3 and 6 years old and her grandmother is having difficulty looking after the 3 children because she has no means to do so. Another female political prisoner has just lost her mother and is not even allowed to go to the funeral.”
‘For God’s sake, please help us. Freedom for all political prisoners, men and women, fathers of families, providers, honest workers and good citizens! Please help the patriots in Brazil. Please share this message worldwide so the whole world can hear the Brazilian political prisoners’ cry for help. Let everyone know that Brazil is now chasing conservatives.”
The lawyer representing indigenous chief, pastor and protest leader Serere Xavante, who was arrested in front of his family on December 12, 2022, is protesting that his client is being held without charge and is seriously ill.
Attorney Geovane Veras Pessoa protests that Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Chief Serere to be detained, even though De Moraes had no jurisdiction to do so.
“The absurd thing is that Chief Serere has been detained for 221 days without the Deputy Attorney General’s complaint being formally accepted by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, meaning that there is no ongoing criminal case,” writes Veras Pessoa. “Chief Serere remains imprisoned solely on the basis of an investigation initiated by Minister Alexandre de Moraes himself, despite serious health problems as he suffers from type 2 diabetes.”
Veras Pessoa describes it as “cruel, humiliating and shameful treatment to deprive an indigenous person protected by law of his liberty and to impose an arbitrarily extended sentence in excess of the prescribed maximum sentence”. The lawyer calls this “a typical and obvious violation of human dignity, which is also inflicted on an indigenous person”. Veras Pessoa points out that the offense of “instigating” Serere is accused of “can be commuted to a simple fine.” The attorney called Serere’s detention “regrettable and shameful.”
In a conversation with the Deputy Attorney General of Brazil, Dr. Lindôra Araújo, Veras Pessoa expressed his “dissatisfaction with the repeated abuse of office by judge Alexandre de Moraes, who did not grant Chief Serere liberty”. He complained that “improper nutrition” had caused Serere to lose enormous amounts of weight. As a »type 2 diabetic patient, he suffers from blurred vision, leg pain, dry mouth and testicle pain.«
Chief Serere is the father of six children, according to Veras Pessoa, “of whom four are minors and two are adults who depend on him. He is a pastor in three evangelical churches where he preaches the Word of God. At home, Serere does important work caring for Indigenous people suffering from depression, drugs and alcohol.”
“He suffers a lot in prison because his natural habitat is nature, in contact with his people, their customs and their culture, where he can be fed properly,” says Veras Pessoa… It should also be noted that the chief suffers from depression and panic attacks and needs weekly medical attention. His anxiety attacks do not stop, he cannot sleep and does not receive the necessary medication or the support of health professionals PERSONAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. In addition, his status as an indigenous person, through the Indigenous Statute, entitles Chief Serere to better treatment.«
The roughly 1,000 detainees released on January 8 must wear electronic shackles, are banned from using social media, have no contact with other opposition figures, and are under house arrest on weekends and evenings. Many have lost their jobs because of the shackles and cannot work as drivers or traveling salesmen. The first trials are scheduled for December, with prison terms ranging from 4 to 30 years.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes wants to force social media in Brazil to share information about their users, including their likes and followers, such as citizens who follow former President Jair Bolsonaro. De Moraes’ judicial police continue to raid and arrest opposition figures at their homes.