Following the suicide of the university rector, Regina Sousa denounces a "police state."

Piauí 247 - After the suicide of the rector of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) Carlos Cancellier, Senator Regina Sousa (PT-PI) stated this Tuesday (3) that "we live in a police state". "The way people are arrested, without defense, condemning without evidence can lead to tragic outcomes," she said.

According to the congresswoman, Cancellier may have been the first fatal victim of the media spectacle that are the Federal Police operations. "The rector committed suicide because he felt humiliated, outraged," she assessed.

Removed from his position, arrested, and subjected to police procedures reserved for convicts, the rector wrote a letter recounting the humiliations he suffered and how this affected his life. A target of Operation Deaf Ears, conducted by the Federal Police, the rector of UFSC was temporarily arrested on September 14th – he was detained for one day. He was suspected of interfering in investigations linking the university to the embezzlement of funds from distance education scholarships of the Open University of Brazil (UAB) program. Four days before committing suicide, Cancellier published an article describing having experienced "humiliation and shame."

According to the congresswoman, "in the 21st century, for someone to be humiliated in this way, to the point of not being able to bear it and committing suicide, is very serious." Regina stated that, although she received a lot of solidarity, she suffered immensely because doubt lingered about him. In the letter, he recounts the suffering of living just steps away from the University and being prevented from entering.

The Brazilian Bar Association – Santa Catarina chapter – released a statement expressing its regret regarding the sensationalism surrounding pretrial detentions. "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," the statement reads.

According to Senator Regina, the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) has finally woken up to the seriousness of the matter. "We need to confront this debate," she said, recalling another victim of the "media frenzy": the former first lady, Marisa Letícia. "Because a woman whose house was practically invaded at 6 a.m., caught in her nightgown in her bedroom, to see Lula being forcibly taken away, in that grotesque spectacle that Rede Globo promoted, with helicopters flying over the building, as if he were the most dangerous criminal they were taking there. After that, Marisa, who was a cheerful woman, became a sad woman, imprisoned inside her own home. Therefore, I also consider her a victim," she stated.

The senator reiterated that it is unacceptable for some people to be exposed in this way because of the denunciation of some while others, "against whom there is evidence", have their punishment delayed. To try to open the debate on this issue, next Tuesday (10) the Human Rights Commission will hold a debate on the Judiciary and the impartiality of the judge. "I think this debate can also help us in many ways," she said.

Disarmament

The massacre perpetrated by a gunman in Las Vegas, which left 58 dead and about 500 injured, according to the parliamentarian, serves as a warning for the discussion surrounding Legislative Decree Project (PDS) 175/2017, which provides for a plebiscite to repeal the Disarmament Statute, currently under analysis in the Senate.

"Is this the right time? Because we know that in the United States, more people die from these individual acts than from terrorist acts. There are many massacres happening in schools and many other places because access to weapons is very easy there. (...) It's good that we reflect on whether this business of allowing weapons to the population will work in Brazil," he said.

*With assistance