Brazilian inmate, who nearly escaped jail dressed as woman, found hanged

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A Brazilian inmate, whose masked
attempt to break out of jail here dressed as his daughter
reverberated around the world, was found dead in his cell, after
apparently having hanged himself, Rio de Janeiro state authorities
said on Tuesday.

Convicted Rio drug dealer Clauvino da Silva, 42, was serving a
decades-long sentence when he was caught trying to break out of
jail last Saturday, disguised as his daughter. He was caught
wearing an eerie plastic mask, a long black wig and women’s
clothes, including a bra.

A video, released by prison authorities, in which he slowly
removes his surreal disguise went viral, shining a light on
Brazil’s longstanding struggle with its violent, overcrowded prison
system, the world’s third largest.

On Tuesday, however, in a gruesome twist, Rio prison officials
said Silva had been found dead in his cell in a high-security unit
in the state’s Bangu prison complex.

“The inmate appears to have hanged himself with a bed sheet,”
Rio’s prison authority said in a statement, adding that an
investigation had been opened.

The death of Silva is an embarrassment for Rio’s prison
authorities, which had initially cheered their actions in
preventing his unusual escape plan. He is the latest prisoner to
die in Brazil’s jails, which have become a major headache for new
tough-on-crime President Jair Bolsonaro.

Last week, at least 57 people died after a prison riot broke out
in the northern state of Para. More than 50 inmates died in similar
circumstances in May during prison riots in the northern state of
Amazonas.

Brazil’s incarcerated population has surged eight-fold in three
decades to around 750,000 inmates. Prison gangs, originally formed
to protect inmates and advocate for better conditions, have come to
wield vast power that reaches far beyond prison walls.

The gangs are linked to bank heists, drug trafficking and
gun-running, with jailed kingpins running their empires via
smuggled cellphones.

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Revolution Now’ May Be Misinterpreted- CCC
…Condemns Demonization of Fulanis

The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) has called on
Conveners and organizers of ‘Revolution Now’ to be cautious in the
use of hyperbolic and sensational words as they may be interpreted
otherwise thereby heightening the already tense situation in the
country.

In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Centre,
Air Commodore Yusuf Anas(Rtd) in Abuja, the centre said the tension
and restiveness which are generated by the deteriorating conflict
trends are further aggravated by the prevalent hate speeches and
resentful communication in the polity.

“This is a dangerous development which if not well managed and
timely too, could spark off national crisis with far reaching
consequences”, the statement said.

It further said while it will not question the right to peaceful
protest by individuals or groups, the process must be done in
tandem with constitutional provisions.

“Sensational and hyperbolic words such as ‘Revolution Now’ if
loosely used, will no doubt be misinterpreted thereby heightening
tensions and heating up the polity. There is the need on the part
of the government and the governed to always exercise restraint in
conflict or crisis situation”, it said.

“Therefore, we do not call for revolution in the current
democratic setting in Nigeria. We call on all well-meaning
individuals, groups, state and non-state actors to see this
unwarranted and surreptitious call as a serious threat to our
nascent democracy”.

The CCC Boss also said Centre for Crisis Communication’s
conflict trends analysis for the first half of 2019 reveals an
upswing in internal security challenges in several parts of
Nigeria. Contemporary security challenges that currently assail the
country include terrorism, armed banditry, kidnapping,
herders/farmers clash, ethno-religious conflict, separatist
agitation, rape, cattle rustling, human trafficking, drug
addiction, ritual killing and cyber-crime/internet fraud (Yahoo
Yahoo).

Meanwhile the Centre has condemned in its entirety the growing
toxic narrative that is purveyed in the country especially in the
social media which tends to demonize the Fulanis, pitching them
against others.

The centre noted that the orchestrated effort to criminalize the
entire Fulani ethnic group was unacceptable, and therefore rejects
the unfortunate narrative that collectively demonizes them as
inherently evil and therefore guilty of whatever crime is
attributed to them, adding that there are criminals in every ethnic
group and all crimes should be dealt with accordingly.

The centre also notes with great concern that a section of the
media has succeeded in giving every criminal and potential ones the
use of Fulani alibi as a cover, stressing that ethnic profiling is
dangerous to the society as the endpoint is ethnic cleansing.

The centre calls on Government not sit aside and watch while
toxic media flourish in our airwaves, adding that Nigerians,
particularly media practitioners and operators of various social
media handles need to be reminded of the dangers of unidirectional
stories.

By PRNigeria^[1]

FULL TEXT BELOW

CENTRE FOR CRISIS COMMUNICTATION
PRESS RELEASE ON THE STATE OF THE NATION:
On Call for ‘Revolution’ and Ethnic Profiling

The Centre for Crisis Communication is deeply concerned about
the rising tension and restiveness in the country. The tension and
restiveness which are generated by the deteriorating conflict
trends are further aggravated by the prevalent hate speeches and
resentful communication in the polity. This is a dangerous
development which if not well managed and timely too, could spark
off national crisis with far reaching consequences.

While the Centre is not questioning the right to peaceful
protest by individuals or groups, we wish to state that it has to
be done in tandem with constitutional provisions. Sensational and
hyperbolic words such as ‘Revolution Now’ if loosely used, will no
doubt be misinterpreted thereby heightening tensions and heating up
the polity. There is the need on the part of the government and the
governed to always exercise restraint in conflict or crisis
situation. Therefore, we do not call for revolution in the current
democratic setting in Nigeria. We call on all well-meaning
individuals, groups, state and non-state actors to see this
unwarranted and surreptitious call as a serious threat to our
nascent democracy.

The Centre for Crisis Communication’s conflict trends analysis
for the first half of 2019 reveals an upswing in internal security
challenges in several parts of Nigeria. Contemporary security
challenges that currently assail the country include terrorism,
armed banditry, kidnapping, herders/farmers clash, ethno-religious
conflict, separatist agitation, rape, cattle rustling, human
trafficking, drug addiction, ritual killing and
cyber-crime/internet fraud (Yahoo Yahoo). It is noteworthy that
some of the current security challenges became aggravated after the
2019 general caution.

Understandably, these challenges are obviously a threat to our
national security and of a major concern for the government. We
appreciate government’s efforts at containing them. However, aside
from the above identified security, there are other negative
behaviours that have tended to accentuate tension and polarize the
polity which the Centre believes deserves greater attention.

Of particular concern to the Centre is the growing toxic
narrative that is purveyed in the country especially in the social
media which tends to demonize an ethnic group, pitching them
against others. A typical example is the orchestrated effort to
criminalize the entire Fulani ethnic group for this crime of a few
among them. The Centre repudiates the unfortunate narrative that
collectively demonizes Fulanis as inherently evil and therefore
guilty of whatever crime is attributed to them. We believe that
there are criminals in every ethnic group and all crimes should be
dealt with accordingly.

We also note that a section of the media has succeeded in giving
every criminal and potential ones the use of Fulani alibi as a
cover. Ethnic profiling is a danger to the society as the endpoint
is ethnic cleansing. Government should not sit aside and watch
while toxic media flourish in our airwaves. Nigerians particularly
media practitioners and operators of various social media handles
need to be reminded of the dangers of unidirectional or a single
story.

To this end, the Centre urges the media to embrace the principle
of conflict sensitive communication which seeks to avoid negative
impacts and maximize positive ones. Insensitive communication
contains triggers that can contribute to outbreak or further
escalation of conflict situation. Objective journalism and
fair-minded operation of social media platforms encourage the
reflection of all significant strands of opinion and not accepting
the version of a story as presented by one side.

Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (Rtd)
Executive Secretary
August 2019