Convicted by the actual cruelty

Recently, a GloboNews journalist, with an indignant tone, labeled as “cruelty” the revocation of entry visas to the United States for the wife and 10-year-old daughter of Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, amid sanctions related to the social program Mais Médicos (“More Doctors”)  —  a criminal scheme designed to funnel Brazilian taxpayer money to the Cuban dictatorship.

The word “cruelty” was tossed around recklessly, used to describe the impact of diplomatic sanctions on an affluent family, as if the loss of a travel privilege constituted the pinnacle of human suffering.

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Meanwhile, mothers, grandmothers, and ordinary citizens, imprisoned after the events of January 8, 2023, face an infinitely more brutal reality: years of incarceration, separation from their children, and inhumane conditions under disproportionate and politically motivated judicial rulings.

Since January 8, 2023, hundreds of individuals have been arrested, many without immediate formal charges, and are now facing legal proceedings that lack transparency and proportionality. Among those detained are people who, in many cases, did not even participate in acts of vandalism, yet were condemned to sentences of up to 17 years in prison.

Yes, you heard that right. Amid all the barbarity we are currently enduring, a TV host decided to declare, almost screaming, that revoking the American visa  —  which is a privilege, not a right  —  of a 10-year-old child is an “unfathomable cruelty.”

At that very moment, I sent a message to Edilson Salgueiro, my colleague here at Oeste and responsible for numerous reports on the victims, asking for a list of the true cruelties perpetrated by Alexandre de Moraes’s current regime. Among the names were women like Débora dos Santos, whose story illustrates what many call judicial persecution. These mothers are not just numbers on a list; they are women torn from their families, deprived of watching their children grow up, while the media narrative focuses on “cruelties” such as losing US visas and the impossibility of going to Disney.

Débora dos Santos is one of the most emblematic faces of this tragedy  —  “Lipstick Débora,” as she became known. A mother of two children, Rafael, 8, and Caio, 10, Débora was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Her “crime”? Being present in Brasília on January 8, at a protest that many consider an exercise in freedom of speech. There is no public evidence that Débora participated in acts of violence or depredation, yet this did not stop the Supreme Federal Court (STF), with Alexandre de Moraes as rapporteur for her case, from imposing a disproportionate, illegal, and inhumane sentence.

While GloboNews sheds tears over the “cruelty” of a 10-year-old child being unable to travel to the US, where is the outrage over Débora’s separation from her own children?

Other mothers, other stories of pain

And Débora is not alone. The list sent by Edilson Salgueiro includes other women in equally devastating situations. While many merely see numbers on a macabre list, here we see mothers and innocent individuals who are paying for the system’s fetish for political persecution  —  names and surnames of people and families forever scarred by the injustice of those who promised to uphold our laws.

• Rieny Munhoz Mácula – Condition: high-risk pregnancy (eight months). Reason for imprisonment: convicted of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, armed criminal association, qualified damage, and deterioration of listed heritage property. Status: sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in prison.
• Diovana Vieira da Costa, 23 – Condition: newborn son. Reason for imprisonment: defendant for the crime of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law and criminal association. Status: awaiting trial to be heard by the full STF court.
• Juliana Gonçalves Lopes Barros, 34 – Children: Davi, 9, with severe asthma, and Eva, 7. Reason for imprisonment: indicted for violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, and criminal association. Status: sentenced to 17 years in prison. Remains imprisoned.
• Ana Flávia de Souza Monteiro Rosa, 37 – Children: Isaac Daniel, 7. Reason for imprisonment: accused of inciting and participating in the depredation of public buildings; indicted for criminal association and qualified damage. Status: sentenced to 17 years in prison. Remains imprisoned.

• Jaqueline Freitas Gimenez, 40 – Children: Isabelle, 10, and a younger boy, 7 (name not disclosed). Reason for imprisonment: accused of participating in the invasion and depredation, indicted for violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, and criminal association. Status: sentenced to 16 years in prison. Remains imprisoned.
• Josilaine Cristina Santana, 43 – Children: a 9-year-old boy (name not disclosed). Reason for imprisonment: accused of active participation in the invasion, indicted for coup d’état, criminal association, and qualified damage. Status: sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in prison. Remains imprisoned and suffering from depression.
• Débora Chaves Caiado, 43 – Children: an 8-year-old boy with ADHD (name not disclosed). Reason for imprisonment: indicted for inciting and financing the January 8 acts; accused of criminal association and violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law. Status: sentenced to 14 years in prison. Has remained imprisoned since June 2024.
• Ednéia Paes Silva dos Santos, 38 – Children: Maria Fernanda, 10, and an adult child (name not disclosed). Reason for imprisonment: indicted for participating in the invasion and destruction of property, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, and coup d’état. Status: sentenced to 17 years. Has alternated between periods of house arrest and closed incarceration. Remains imprisoned.
• Camila Mendonça Marques, 37 – Children: Clara, 7, and Vinícius, 13. Reason for imprisonment: convicted of participation in the “coup acts,” indicted for violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, coup d’état, and criminal association. Status: sentenced to 17 years in prison. Remains imprisoned.

And what about the daughters of Cleriston da Cunha, who died in Papuda prison after the absolute disregard shown by Alexandre de Moraes, who ignored eight habeas corpus requests with medical certificates and even support from the Prosecutor-General’s Office (PGR) for his imprisonment to be converted to house arrest? “Clezão” suffered from severe heart problems and required daily medical care. He died in the custody of the State. A cruelty, of course, but far smaller than “losing a US visa.”

“Mais Médicos” and more hypocrisy

The case of Alexandre Padilha and the US sanctions illustrates the disproportion in the media narrative. The Mais Médicos program, created in 2013, was criticized and sanctioned by the US for its partnership with Cuba, which exploited Cuban doctors, retaining a large portion of their salaries. GloboNews, in turn, amplified the “cruelty” narrative against the family of the socialist Padilha, who has now lost the privilege of visiting the land of the evil Yankees and savage capitalism.

The word “cruelty” seems to carry uneven weight depending on who utters it. For the cheerleaders in the reality-detached press, losing a visa is a tragedy worthy of headlines and TV tantrums. For the mothers of January 8, the destruction of their lives and families is merely a footnote. This selectivity is not just hypocrisy; it is an insult to justice and human dignity.

Padilha’s 10-year-old child won’t be able to visit the US, but the children of Débora, Josilaine, and others face a future without their mothers, who face precarious health conditions and emotional abandonment. Which of these situations truly deserves the label of “cruelty”? The answer is clear, but not for the media elite who choose their causes based on political convenience and interests in the games of power.

The broken promise of Human Rights

Humanity achieved a momentous milestone on December 10, 1948, with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN. This document, born from the ashes of World War II, promised to protect dignity, liberty, and the right to family for all, without distinction. Articles such as the 3rd (“Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”) and the 9th (“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile”) were celebrated as pillars of a new era. Yet, history shows that these promises are frequently broken when political power seeks to silence dissidents.

The mothers of January 8 are living examples of this betrayal. Imprisoned without clear evidence of serious crimes, separated from their children, and subjected to disproportionate sentences, they face a reality that contradicts the Declaration’s ideals.

In apartheid South Africa, for instance, women were imprisoned and set apart from their families for resisting the regime. Under the Stalinist regime (1929-1953), millions were sent to forced labor camps (Gulags) as part of political repression. Many women, accused of being “enemies of the people” for reasons often vague (such as opposition to the regime or family ties to dissidents), were separated from their children. The Nazi regime (1933-1945) set apart countless mothers from their children, especially in concentration and extermination camps. The dehumanization of mothers in Nazi camps, torn from their children by a regime that viewed them as enemies, echoes the pain of the January 8 mothers, imprisoned and severed from their children on charges whose proportionality many question.

These episodes, while distinct, illustrate how power can distort justice to punish those who defy it, betraying the principles of humanity that the 1948 Declaration sought to protect.

In today’s Brazil, the January 8 convictions echo this betrayal. Alexandre de Moraes, in leading these proceedings, is accused by critics  —  and now by the United States  —  of conducting political persecution disguised as defense of democracy. The 12, 15, or 17-year sentences imposed on mothers like Débora, Josilaine, and others violate the spirit of the Declaration, which demands proportionality and respect for fundamental rights. The true cruelty lies in ignoring these principles in the name of a narrative that serves political interests.

True cruelty has no age

Following the lists of barbarity in the 2025 Brazil, in a hair-raising similarity to the worst pages of humanity, we also find elderly individuals with convictions and sentences that are gut-wrenching.

With the imputation of crimes such as coup d’état, violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law, criminal association, qualified damage, and deterioration of listed heritage property, reading the names of people who should be caring for their grandchildren but who are incarcerated due to pure abuse of injustice is truly heartbreaking. Here at Oeste, they will never be mere “statistics” of January 8:

• Vildete Ferreira da Silva Guardia, 74 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Iraci Megumi Nagoshi, 73 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Maria de Fátima Jacinto, 70 – sentenced to 17 years in a closed regime.
• Sônia Teresinha Possa, 67 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Jair Domingues de Morais, 67 – sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• José Carlos Galanti, 66 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Luís Carlos de Carvalho Fonseca, 64 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Ana Elza Pereira da Silva, 64 – sentenced to 14 years in a closed regime.
• Maria do Carmo da Silva, 63 – sentenced to 14 years in a closed regime.
• Francisca Hildete Ferreira, 63 – sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Antônio Teodoro de Moraes, 71 – sentenced to 14 years in a closed regime.
• Cláudio Rubens da Costa, 73 – sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Jamildo Bomfim de Jesus, 62 – sentenced to 14 years in a closed regime.
• Moisés dos Anjos, 63 – sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Nelson Ferreira da Costa, 61 – sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a closed regime.
• Marco Afonso Campos dos Santos, 62 – sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in a closed regime.

And this is not even the whole list. If, like me, you’ve reached this point with your stomach churning at these names, absurd convictions, and sentences, let us pray together that help may also come from the heavens. After all, it’s already become obvious that this war is also between good and evil.

Cruelty is not losing the privilege to travel to the United States. Cruelty is tearing a mother or grandmother away from her children and grandchildren, condemning them to years in prison without clear evidence of serious crimes. It is ignoring the suffering of destroyed families under the pretense of defending democracy. While the media throw tantrums over Alexandre Padilha and his family, the voices of these families remain silenced.

It is time to clearly demonstrate what cruelty truly means. It is time to demand justice for the people of January 8 and to expose the hypocrisy and malice of those who ignore this cruel reality. May history judge and condemn those who, by action or omission, perpetuate this cycle of pain.

Read more at “The latest absurdities of January 8”