APT addresses Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court on in-person custody hearings as a key safeguard against torture
The APT participated in a public hearing before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) to address the constitutionality of recent changes to the country’s custody hearing framework. The changes, introduced by the recently enacted Anti-Organised Crime Law, make videoconferencing the default format for custody hearings, reversing the previous rule that prioritised the physical presence of the detained person before a judge.
In its intervention, APT stressed that in-person custody hearings are not simply a matter of procedural design. Bringing a person promptly and physically before a judicial authority in the first hours following arrest is an essential safeguard against torture and ill-treatment and arbitrary detention. This principle is recognised by both the UN Human Rights Committee and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The UN Committee against Torture has also specifically recommended that Brazil conduct custody hearings with the physical presence of the detained person, before a magistrate and in a judicial setting.