Court System in Brazil Violates Secrecy and Exposes Children Victims of Rape

04/26/2018 - 11h38

The National Bank of Arrest Warrants (BNMP), a database created by Brazil's National Council of Justice, makes available for public consultation secret information on ongoing proceedings protected by legal confidentiality.

In the warrants in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the full names and detailed description of the rape of a five-year-old child committed by his stepfather are shown. Mother and son, both victims, are identified.

Similar flaws are found in other Brazilian states, such as Acre, Amapá, Bahia, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Santa Catarina and São Paulo.

This type of exposure opposes the 2016 decision made by the National Council of Justice itself which orders the country's courts to protect the identity of the victims by using their initials, mainly in the cases of statutory rape.

The council is responsible for inspecting and controlling the activities of the judiciary branch. The BNMP holds all the arrest warrants in the country and is updated daily.

The version is flawed: the information lacks uniformity and is not updated or complete, while forms are filled out erratically. Judging by the answers sent by the states, even proceedings that affect the security of those involved are not uniform, such as the exposure of victims of statutory rape.

"What we have here is a mistake in feeding," says Rogério José Bento Soares do Nascimento, a former member of the National Council of Justice and a federal public prosecutor.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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