LEGAL ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR THE PEOPLE – NAJUP – MS

To consolidate data regarding the prison situation of the Guarani Kaiowá Indians of Mato Grosso do Sul, promoting the recognition of specific rights regarding Indigenous detainees.

• Work in ten cases elected as strategic litigation with the objective of bringing to the Judiciary system the issue of Indigenous people as pre-trial detainees.
• Analyze the situation of the Guarani Kaiowa Indigenous detainees in Mato Grosso do Sul and providing legal assistance on the specific rights of those prisoners.
• Ensure that the work performed by the State Public Defender’s Office, the Federal Public Defender’s Office and the Public Prosecutor’s Office are guided by the existing specific legislation on Indigenous prisoners.
• Organize a seminar on the situation of Indigenous prisoner and their rights, presenting data and cases. The event will be held at the Law School in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul.

According to data provided by the State Agency of Penitentiary Administration of Mato Grosso do Sul, there are 200 Indigenous detainees in the state and, of these, around 160 are under provisional arrest. It is necessary to know more about the procedural situation of the Indigenous detainees.

Legal Assistance Center for the People – NAJUP was created from the efforts of Indigenous and indigenist professionals of Mato Grosso do Sul working in defense of human rights, notably the right of Indigenous peoples. Led by the indigenous lawyer Luiz Henrique Eloy Amado and the MST (Landless Movement) lawyer Anderson de Souza Santos, both founders of the center,  Najup has worked in court cases regarding the possession, ownership, and use of Indigenous territories – Guarani, Kaiowá, Kinikinau and Terena – and in the defense of Indigenous leaders who are criminalized due to land struggle. In the last four years, they have filed at least 80 lawsuits (civil and criminal) and monitored approximately 150 and legal and administrative proceedings. Providing legal assistance to the indigenous movement in Mato Grosso do Sul by taking part in the Aty Guasu (indigenous assemblies) and Terena councils, another important action is reflected in their participation as assistant prosecutors in the criminal cases involving leaders that were murdered due to land conflict, such as: Nisio Gomes, Dorvalino Rocha, Dorival Benites, Xurite Lopes, Rolindo e Genivaldo Vera.

Legal Assistance Center for the People - NAJUP - MS
National Network of People's Lawyers - RENAP.
Indigenous Genocide Research Group - UNIFESP
Observatory of Social-Environmental Conflicts of Mato Grosso do Sul (OBCA / MS)
Collective - Jurists for Democracy
Landless Workers' Movement - MST.
Indigenous Missionary Council.
Center for Defense of Human Rights - CDH Petrópolis
NEPPI - UCDB