Covid-19 e as pessoas privadas de liberdade: uma análise do caso Vélez Loor vs. Panamá no âmbito do Sistema Interamericano de Proteção de Direitos Humanos

Abstract

This article aims to study the role of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights as a guarantor and promoter of the human rights of persons deprived of their liberty, especially in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been ravaging the globe since March 2020. , seeking to make the research more tangible, the case Vélez Loor vs. Panama presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in particular, the provisional measure of May 7, 2020, in order to enable a current and relevant discussion about the rights of prisoners and the obligations of States towards them in the context of a health crisis . Therefore, after carrying out an analytical-deductive study, whose objectives will be analyzed in the first part of the text from the historical-descriptive method, describing the construction of the System and the rights of the inmates, in the second part, using from the descriptive-explanatory method, it focuses specifically on the rights of persons incarcerated at the inter-American level; in the third moment, it is dedicated, through the same method, to detail the case Velez Loor v. Panama and its aftermath. In the end, it is concluded that the State of Panama is not able to properly operate its prison system, generating several violations of the most basic human rights, especially in the context of the pandemic. Despite this, the case also demonstrates the relevance of the System to protect rights, especially when the State is not able to do it for itself.