The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) recommended, this Tuesday (21), that the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) prioritize the listing of the building where the Internal Defense Operations Center (DOI-Codi) operated in Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro. According to the MPF, the process has been ongoing at the institute for more than 10 years, since 2013. 
DOI-Codi was a body linked to the Army, which operated, during the military dictatorship, between 1964 and 1984, as an agency of political repression. There, those considered enemies of the government were imprisoned, tortured and killed. There were units in different cities, such as São Paulo, Recife and Porto Alegre, in addition to Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, the building where the organization operated is currently where the 1st Police Battalion of the Rio de Janeiro Army is located.
The place was a space for the torture and death of dozens of political prisoners, including the engineer and former federal deputy Rubens Paivawhose story was portrayed in the film I’m still here. The former parliamentarian was taken from his home, in Rio de Janeiro, by agents from the Aeronautics Information Center (Cisa), on the holiday of January 20, 1971 (St. Sebastian’s Day), 54 years ago.
Paiva was not the only victim of the dictatorship, the National Truth Commission identified at least 434 people killed or disappeared by dictatorial forces.
Memory preservation
The MPF recommends that Iphan complete the instruction phase of the listing process – a phase in which evidence is collected – in 2025, evaluate the possibility of a provisional listing and create a space on the institutional website so that society has access to information on the tipping process. According to the Public Ministry, there is an unjustified and disproportionate delay in completing the process at Iphan.
The recommendation, according to the MPF, aims to preserve the memory and promote truth and justice about the period of the military dictatorship. Installing an on-site memory center is old demand from family members and organizations that fight for justice, reparation and so that the story that cost the lives of so many people is not forgotten.
