Sergeant Laci Araújo, convicted last week for the crime of desertion and who was free to appeal in freedom, was arrested again this Tuesday (30), on charges of disciplinary transgression for having traveled to São Paulo without authorization from the Army. The arrest occurred when Laci appeared at the Superior Military Court to hear the sentence for the case in which he was convicted. According to his partner, former sergeant Fernando Alcântara, this is a standard procedure. However, during the session, Army Police agents arrived with an order for Laci's arrest.
Laci Araújo is imprisoned in the Presidential Guard Battalion, despite the Federal Public Ministry's recommendation that the Army recognize Laci's illness and facilitate her medical treatment. According to Fernando Alcântara, army regulations say that no member of the corporation should be arrested or imprisoned while undergoing medical treatment. The Military Council that participated in Laci's trial acknowledged that the sergeant is ill and needs medical treatment. The general command of the corporation, however, disregards all these aspects and resorts to inhumane retaliation against Sergeant Laci.
“I am mobilizing our lawyers, the Federal Public Ministry and all possible bodies and entities to see how we can reverse this situation. They (the Army Command) cannot go unpunished”, said Fernando this afternoon. According to him, the first attempt is to file a habeas corpus by tomorrow so that Laci can be released as quickly as possible.
Laci suffers from epilepsy and presented reports from civilian neurologists to a military medical board, which so far has not issued an opinion on the matter to be included in the desertion process. The Military Council recognized the existence of the illness, which prevents him from providing military services, but condemned him for desertion, ordering him to return to his normal work activities from yesterday (29/9).
Sergeant Laci Araújo and former sergeant Fernando Alcântara decided to publicly acknowledge their stable romantic relationship in an interview with Época magazine in May 2008, as a way of protecting themselves and guaranteeing their physical integrity in the face of the threats and attacks they had been suffering from the command of the corporation, due to their affective-sexual relationship. During an interview with the Super Pop program, on RedeTV! On June 4th, the studio was surrounded by the Army Police, and both were arrested for disciplinary offenses – the same reason for today's arrest.
* With information from Jandira Queiroz
