Brazilian police chief in Sutton tourist death case investigated for torture (From Your Local Guardian)

Brazilian police chief in Sutton tourist death case investigated for torture

10:30am Wednesday 25th November 2009 in

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A Brazilian police chief who worked on the case of a British tourist who died in a police cell is being investigated for allegedly torturing a prisoner.

Luis Carlos Dantas, superintendent of the civil police in the state of Ceara, northeastern Brazil, oversaw the investigation on the death of Neil Juwaheer, from Carshalton Beeches, in a Brazil police cell in 2007.

The superintendent is now accused of torturing Brazilian man Francisco Pedro Barreto de Freitas in custody at the moment of his arrest and is being called to step down over the allegations.

Speaking exclusively to the Sutton Guardian, Superintendent Dantas denied torturing Mr Barreto de Freitas.

He said: “I am the one who has been demanding that crimes of torture committed by chiefs of police in this state are investigated.

“Now I’m being retaliated and dragged into this, even though I have not been involved at all.

“Other people involved in this have accused me of torturing this prisoner [Mr Barreto de Freitas] as well, when I was the one who investigated the whole thing.”

Holidaymaker Mr Juwaheer, 35, died in custody after local police claimed he swallowed a package of cocaine.

But an independent investigation funded by Mr Juwaheer’s parents, who own Croydon care home Thornton Lodge, revealed that the former estate agent died of severe head trauma.

His evidence forced federal prosecutors at the Brazilian Public Ministry to call on police for answers.

Mr Juwaheer’s father, Chatrapal, known as Joe, said the new allegations confirmed his worst fears.

He said: “I have a feeling that only a father has, that my son was beaten by those policeman.

"There are witnesses who saw him being beaten, but they are too afraid to come forward.

"I never used to suffer from depression, but the more this drags it becomes too hard to bear, then I think of Neil and it kills me."

Prosecutors from the Brazilian Public Ministry brought the case on Superintendent Dantas after mobile phone images showed him with other two police officers keeping the prisoner under bricks placed next to a wall.

Five other police officers who are also being investigated for torture have been suspended.

Superintendent Dantas was investigated once in 2007 for involvement in a case where a 17-year-old girl was executed after she gave incriminating evidence against officers accused of executing a shop owner.

He was cleared of all allegations.