The Brazilian Ministry of Culture declared as national public heritage the historic building in Rio de Janeiro in which the DOPS (Department of Political and Social Order) operated, a repressive body of the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985), known for being a torture center.
The respective decree of the Ministry of Culture with the decision of the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) was published in this Tuesday’s edition of the Official Gazette.
The organization considered that the building must be protected to preserve its historical, artistic and architectural memory, as well as to highlight it as a scene of social and political struggles in defense of democracy.
In a ceremony last October in which the Iphan requested that it be declared heritage, the president of the body, Leandro Grass, stated that the act was necessary to preserve the memory of the years of the military dictatorship, which were characterized by censorship and human rights violations.
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“The act pays tribute to those who were tortured, persecuted, killed or disappeared for fighting for freedom. By turning the building into heritage we contribute so that present and future generations do not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said.
The three-story building with a central patio in the traditional Tijuca neighborhood was the headquarters of the Special Commissariat for Political and Social Security (Desps) during the regime of President Getúlio Vargas between 1933 and 1944, and later housed the headquarters of the DOPS between 1962 and 1975.
Also known as the Police Palace, it was a regular destination for political prisoners in different periods and a well-known torture center.
Among the political prisoners who were in its facilities during the Getulio Vargas regime, the biggest opponents of the time stood out, such as Luiz Carlos Prestes, Graciliano Ramos and Olga Benário.
The building inaugurated in November 1910 was designed by architect Heitor de Melo, one of the main representatives of the eclectic school in Brazil.
With information from EFE
