Brasília, September 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Special Secretariat of Human Rights installed, today, in Brasília, a mobile group to combat torture. The idea is to pay surprise visits to police precincts, prison establishments, adolescent detention units, and psychiatric hospitals, currently the principal targets for accusations of the practice of torture. "The goal is eliminate torture in the country," explained the auditor of the Special Secretariat of Human Rights, Pedro Montenegro.

The auditor informed that a permanent supervisory activity will be conducted and that even places that have never been accused of torture may receive visits. "The chief objective is this educational effect, in the sense that people persuade themselves that, from now on, there is a group that will be circulating throughout Brazil with the independence and the authority necessary to put a stop to this sore called torture," he said. (DAS)