The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) mourns the death of the university rector and condemns the media spectacle surrounding the arrests.
The Santa Catarina chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association released a statement, signed by its president, Paulo Marcondes Brincas, lamenting the death of the rector of UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), Luiz Carlos Cancellier de Olivo; "The time has come for Brazilian society and the legal community to seriously debate the spectacular and media-driven way in which provisional arrests are carried out in Brazil, even before those involved are heard, let alone their defense," says an excerpt from the text.
247 The Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) of Santa Catarina issued a statement lamenting the death of the rector of UFSC, Luiz Carlos Cancellier de Olivo, who committed suicide after being arrested and removed from office by the Federal Police as a result of an investigation.
"The time has come for Brazilian society and the legal community to seriously debate the spectacular and media-driven way in which provisional arrests are carried out in Brazil, even before those involved are heard, let alone their defense," says an excerpt from the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) statement.
Cancellier was the target of Operation Deaf Ears, which investigates the misappropriation of funds and irregularities in distance learning courses within the Open University of Brazil (UAB) program, and maintained his innocence. Read the OAB's statement:
OAB/SC expresses sorrow for the death of the rector of UFSC: "The time has come to seriously debate the spectacular and media-driven way in which provisional arrests are carried out in Brazil."
The OAB SC (Brazilian Bar Association of Santa Catarina) publicly expresses its deep sorrow for the death of the rector of UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), Luiz Carlos Cancelier, which occurred this Monday morning in Florianópolis, under tragic circumstances.
The time has come for Brazilian society and the legal community to seriously debate the spectacular and media-driven way in which provisional arrests are carried out in Brazil, even before those involved have been heard, let alone their defense.
Reputations painstakingly built over years of work and sacrifice can be completely destroyed in a single newspaper headline. For innocent people, the damage is irreparable. They are left with shame, pain, and a sense of injustice. The weight of these feelings can be unbearable.
To the family and friends of Professor Cancelier, our sincere condolences.
The OAB SC (Brazilian Bar Association of Santa Catarina) is in official mourning for three days.
Paulo Marcondes Brincas
President of the OAB/SC (Brazilian Bar Association, Santa Catarina chapter)
Press Office of the OAB/SC (Brazilian Bar Association, Santa Catarina chapter)