Secretary resigns after prison break in Maranhão.

Following the second prison break in just one week at the Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex in São Luís (MA), Sebastião Uchôa resigned from his position as head of the Maranhão State Secretariat of Justice and Penitentiary Administration (Sejap); the position will be temporarily assumed by the state Secretary of Public Security, Marcos Affonso. The official offered his resignation during a riot that began a few hours after inmates escaped through a tunnel dug from the São Luís 1 Prison, one of the eight facilities that make up the complex.

September 17, 2014, 17:33 PMUpdated July 05, 2018, 16:04 pm

After the second escape in just one week at the Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex in São Luís (MA), Sebastião Uchôa resigned from his position as head of the Maranhão State Secretariat of Justice and Penitentiary Administration (Sejap); the position will be temporarily assumed by the state Secretary of Public Security, Marcos Affonso; the official offered his resignation during a riot that began a few hours after inmates escaped through a tunnel dug from the São Luís 1 Prison, one of the eight facilities that make up the complex (Photo: Leonardo Lucena).

Alex Rodrigues - Reporter for Agência Brasil

After the second escape in just one week was recorded at the Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex, in São Luís (MA), Sebastião Uchôa left today (17) the command of the Secretariat of Justice and Penitentiary Administration (Sejap) of Maranhão. The position will be assumed on an interim basis by the state Secretary of Public Security, Marcos Affonso.

Uchôa offered his resignation during a riot that began a few hours after inmates escaped through a tunnel dug from the São Luís 1 Prison, one of the eight facilities that make up the complex. During the chaos, television crews captured images of prisoners climbing the prison walls and being restrained by military police.

While police officers attempted to control the situation, prison guards and inspectors who had joined a 24-hour strike were gathered in front of the main entrance to Pedrinhas prison. The group is denouncing the lack of adequate working conditions and the dangers to which agents of the Maranhão prison system are exposed.

A law graduate, former prison security officer in Pernambuco, and former executive director of the Professor Aníbal Bruno prison in Recife (PE), Uchôa, who was also a police officer, had headed Sejap since March 2013. Upon assuming the position, he promised to increase security in prison facilities, value prison officers, and invest in the rehabilitation of prisoners. However, during his tenure, he had to explain the state's inability to guarantee the safety of prisoners and prevent further escapes.

This year alone, 16 inmates have already been murdered inside the prison complex, the largest prison in Maranhão. Data from the National Council of Justice (CNJ) reveals that at least 60 prisoners were killed in 2013. If the government's estimate is confirmed, approximately 46 inmates escaped last week, ten escaped today, and 36 on the 10th, when criminals forced a truck driver to drive the vehicle against the complex's wall, opening a large hole in the concrete. According to the Sejap press office, only three of the fugitives had been captured. During the chaos, four inmates were injured and one was recaptured.