The Military Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo acquitted six military police officers (PMs) accused of torturing a civilian. The case gained notoriety because videos of Robson Rodrigo Francisco being held tied from behind, in a situation reminiscent of the torture method known as pau-de-arara, were made public and criticized by lawmakers. The young man was carried tied up with a rope and a shirt. According to the military’s defense, the measure was necessary to prevent him from hurting himself and other people, including the police officers.
The ruling, made public yesterday, was a decision by Judge Ronaldo João Roth and considered the complaint unfounded, stating that the police officers followed the battalion’s protocol when taking the young man arrested for theft to the hospital before taking him to the Police Station (DP): “those accused in the facts of the complaint acted without malice, aiming to preserve the physical integrity of the civilian Robson, who was therefore taken to the emergency room before the civilian was arrested at the DP”. Thus, for the judge, the PMs “acted in strict compliance with their legal duty”.
The case occurred in June 2023, after the theft of two boxes of chocolate from a supermarket, which Robson acknowledged in court two months later.
Robson’s defense also filed a lawsuit in common court, requesting torture compensation. The trial of this action does not yet have a scheduled date, according to Robson’s lawyer, José Luiz de Oliveira Junior.
