In the State of Paraíba: 22 Year Old Man Whipped and Tortured

In the State of Paraíba: 22-Year-Old Man Whipped and Tortured

Note from BW of Brazil: This story is quite disturbing. As I reported yesterday, May 13th is the day in which more than three centuries of slavery officially ended in 1888. Yesterday marked the 132 years of the signing of the so-called Golden Law making Brazil the last country in the Americas to end the enslavement of millions of Africans and their descendants. One would assume that the brutality and torture that was a regular part of the institution of slavery ended with the abolition of the practice, but as we have seen in past articles, in reality, slavery can still be found in certain areas of Brazil.

Similarly, as we have also seen in past articles, Brazil as a nation still seems to have a certain nostalgia for that dark period in the country’s history, as we have seen with the numerous references to and quasi re-enactments of the era (see here, here and here). Another remnant of the slavery era that we see from time to time is the brutality and cruelty in which some Brazilians are treated by their fellow countrymen. Counter to the image of Brazil’s so-called “cordial man”, I’ve seen more examples of the cruel character of some Brazilians than I can remember since I began following the day-to-day of Brazilian society. 

In Brazil today, you’ll find some of the most murderous police on the planet, death squads that eliminate a segment of society deemed ‘undesirable’, lynch mobs, shocking prison violence and, in today’s piece, the use of a whip in order to torture another human being. Several months back, another video in which a young man was stripped naked and whipped shocked people who saw it as it immediately conjured up memories of the country’s slave past.

The story I present today is just as disturbing although the details of how everything went down still seem to be a bit sketchy. It would seem to me that for something to happen as was described in the report, there would have had to have been another person or two involved. I mean, how does one person whip another without the assistance of another person if the person being whipped wasn’t tied to something? The article doesn’t address these questions, so hopefully, more details will come out in the future. If it went down this way, it’s appalling  regardless of how many people were involved, but given the nation’s history, both distant and recent, I can’t say that I’m shocked. 

Young man is whipped by farmer’s son

By Manu Silva

The family of a young 22-year-old farmer living at Sítio Cajueiro I, located on the border between Triunfo and Princesa Isabel, both cities located in the northeastern state of Paraíba, is revolted and crying for justice after an unusual and violent case of physical aggression today. In contact with Farol de Notícias, one of the victim’s relatives, asking for confidentiality of his identity and the parties involved, said that he was whipped by another boy, a 21-year-old student, the son of a renowned farmer in the region, on the May 2, around 10 pm, after a meeting at the home of the suspect of the assault.

Farol de Notícias had access to the police report (BO No. 20E0271000113 registered at the Police Station of the 181° Circunscrição de Triunfo) which reports the details described by the victim and the suspect in the assault. According to the document, the alleged perpetrator invited the victim to drink on his property and the violent acts started after the 21-year-old accused the victim of tampering with something in the house without permission.

The lashes left serious injuries to the boy’s back, head and face. The police were called in and carried out investigations in the region in search of another young man named as the perpetrator, while the victim went to the police station to register the complaint. Moments later, the suspect arrived at Depol with a stainless steel fish knife and plastic handle, stating that the object was used as a threat instrument by the victim.

All the confusion has divided opinions in Triunfo, but the family said they were surprised that the case didn’t reach the local press and justified a kind of ‘operation’ to stifle the case. Also according to the victim’s relative, what the family wants is for justice to be done on the case and the accused to answer legally for the crime committed.

“He was taken to the hospital in Triunfo where the report confirmed multiple abrasions, Monday he went to Serra Talhada to have an X-ray and see if there was any more serious injury. We trust the police to do their job so that he is indicted and prosecuted under the law so that this is not seen as a normal act in the 21st century. As the boy comes from a family of a lower class, he (the aggressor) must have thought he could do something as barbaric as that and get away with it. It’s a situation that is causing revolt across the city, but we didn’t see anyone in the press speak out, so we think they wanted to cover up the case. As the farm is on the border with Paraíba, the investigation will be forwarded to the Police of Princesa Isabel-PB for investigation,” declared the victim’s cousin.

Source: Farol de Notícias