“Brazilian Military Police Allegedly Commit Random Executions in São Paulo – Victims Speak Out”

Incidents of Unlawful Killings Reported in São Paulo, Brazil

Authorities deny allegations of unlawful killings

According to a report from Agencia Brasil, there have been claims that the Brazilian Military Police (PM) forces have engaged in extrajudicial executions during Operation Shield in the city of Guarujá, located on the coast of São Paulo. Residents of the affected neighborhoods have alleged that the officers randomly targeted individuals who were either former prison inmates or had a police record.

The commission, consisting of São Paulo State Deputies Eduardo Suplicy and Paulo Batista dos Reis, both from PT, Mônica Seixas, Ediane Maria, and Paula Nunes from PSOL, as well as representatives from the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-SP), the state Public Defender’s Office, the São Paulo State Police Ombudsman, and the State Council for the Defense of Human Rights of the State Secretariat of Justice and Citizenry, collected these reports on Wednesday (2) in Guarujá.

Deputy Mônica Seixas, a member of the commission, stated, “What we heard from victims, I can’t even call them witnesses, because they were all victims, was [that there were] systematic, continuous approaches, of people inside the house, on the street, [of] police officers entering people’s homes without a judicial warrant, without any justification, and calling those who were in the prison system or who had a police record. And, randomly, some people with a police record were executed. A father with a child on his lap was executed. Young people were beaten. Some were put in the car and taken to be killed in other communities. That’s what we heard.”

Check out this Rice Hack for Losing Weight

It is important to note that these incidents occurred following the murder of law enforcement officer Patrick Bastos Reis in Guarujá. The State subsequently launched Operation Shield in the Baixada Santista region. As of Tuesday, the operation has resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people, according to Governor Tarcísio Freitas. Deputy Mônica Seixas questioned the continuation of the operation, stating, “What we are hearing here is that none of these deaths are related to the murder of PM Patrick. This is the first big question: if the state has identified and arrested those suspected of being Patrick’s killers, why is the operation continuing? What is the relationship of the murdered people, the dead people, with Patrick’s death?”

Deputy Seixas held the State government responsible for the deaths and criticized Operation Shield for bringing insecurity and violence to Guarujá. She emphasized the need for an intelligent and technical investigation into the death of the police officer but stated, “it is not acceptable that the death of a police officer is a justification for random executions.”

Operation Shield, which involves 15 battalions of special forces and approximately 3,000 troops, is expected to last one month. The Public Security Secretariat of Brazil reported that a total of 16 people have been killed following police operations in the Baixada Santista region, with 58 individuals being arrested between July 28 and August 1. In addition, a fourth suspect linked to Reis’ murder was recently apprehended in Santos.

While the Ombudsman’s Office has denounced instances of abuse and torture, the Public Security Secretariat maintains that there is no evidence to support these allegations. It is worth noting that on the same day, nine people were killed in another police operation in Rio de Janeiro.