Riseup stands in solidarity with Saravá
26 April, 2014
The Saravá Group is facing the imminent threat of the seizure of its main server by the Public Prosecutor in Brazil. This action comes at a time when Brazil is hosting netmundial, a conference on the future of internet governance. Ironically, earlier this week Brazil passed legislation touted as a “Bill of Rights” for the internet. Yet only days later, Prosecuting Attorney Edilson Vitorelli Diniz Lima from the Public Prosecutor’s Office intends to seize Saravá’s machine, which hosts research groups, social movements, discussion lists, and other tools wholly unconnected to the investigation. More troubling still, Saravá’s privacy policy states that the organization does not record the information that is being sought by the Public Prosecutor. The Public Prosecutor’s decision to go forward with the seizure even though the information it is seeking is not present exposes the Prosecutor’s true intent: to stifle dissent and harass social movements.
The Public Prosecutor should cease and desist from these activities which are in direct violation of Article 3 of the Marco Civil da Internet, which expressly protects privacy, the integrity of personal data, and freedom of expression.
Saravá’s statement is mirrored below.
Urgent - Saravá Group is about to lose its main server!
FIRST DATA THEFT AFTER MARCO CIVIL INTERNET BILL HAS PASSED: POLICE ATTACK TO PRIVACY MAY OCCUR AFTER NETMUNDIAL’S EVENT
Due to a lawsuit running in secrecy of Justice against Radio Muda, the oldest independent radio station working in Brazil, Saravá’s main server is settled to be confiscated this next Monday, April 28th, at 1:00 PM (Local time, GTM-3h).
Radio Muda has had its equipment confiscated once before in Februrary 24th of this year[1]. As the litigation went on, Prosecuting Attorney Edilson Vitorelli Diniz Lima from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, signed a request for the server aiming for the radio’s site data that might identify it’s members.
Sarava’s sever is located at the State University of Campinas - Unicamp, and hosts the radiolivre.org plat form, including Radio Muda’s website, it also hosts many different research projects related to Unicamp and other public Brazilian universities.
Sarava is a research group that for the past 10 years have offered technological infrastructure, political thinking and autonomous and secure communication sources freely to research groups and social movements [2]. In 2008, one of its servers has been confiscasted and it hasn’t been returned since [3].
Just now, as the Marco Civil Internet Bill has passed[4], and as Brazil’s hosting a World International Internet Meeting and is trying to pass on the idea of being the one holding country that holds the state-of-the-art legislation towards internets privacy, freedom and security, we face once more an attempt of data theft, undermining the privacy of research projects and the free acess to information, with the closure of discussion lists, sites and other tools.
We say the decision of breaking the confidentiality of our communication following the Public Prosecutor’s Office lawsuit is disproportionate. Afterall, the server has no record that could identify its users as part of its Privacy Politics[5].
We ask for solidarity from all groups, individuals and institutions that fight for a free society and internet. Next monday, April 28th at 1:00 PM (Local time, GTM-3h), there will be a demonstration in front of the Data Processing Center from the Filosophy and Humanities Institute building at Unicamp, all support will be welcomed.
Our hatred towards this act will be shown throughout social networks and messages to Public Prosecutor’s Office all over the internet. Hashtags: #SaravaLivre, #netmundial1984, #sarava, #privacidade, #OurNetMundial, #marcocivildainternet
We demand the immediate interruption of police’s attempts against Saravá’s Group server and its users data.