Court Orders Release of Woman Detained While Visiting Son at Bangu Prison

Overview

• Paula Santanna de Oliveira was stopped at entry procedures to Presídio Alfredo Tranjan and detained while attempting to visit her son on Saturday, May 23.
• State penal authorities say the arrest came after an intelligence exchange between Seppen’s intelligence unit and the DRFC-BF and that a preventive warrant was served at the 34ª DP in Bangu.
• The Defensoria Pública contested the detention, saying Paula’s sentence was extinguished on October 20, 2020 and that a 2011 warrant remained active in error.
• A custody hearing led a judge to order her release and she was freed on Monday afternoon, May 25, after the court recognized the irregularity and moved to relax the arrest.
• The case exposes mismatches between police and court records and shows how custody hearings plus fixes to the Tribunal de Justiça’s IT system are needed to prevent and correct wrongful detentions.