Brazilian woman who was imprisoned in Brussels is now in Brazil, informs consulate

Jessika Ribeiro was imprisoned for three weeks in the Belgian capital. Based on the information provided by the authorities to the Brazilian consulate in Brussels, the Brazilian woman left for Brazil on November 13th.

Brazilian citizen Jessika Jane Moraes Ribeiro, 34, who had been arrested in Belgium, is now back in Brazil. According to the Brazilian Consulate in Brussels, the decision to send her back was made by the authorities on November 13. Diplomats who closely monitored the case almost daily assured that Jessika received all the necessary assistance during her detention.

According to the Brazilian Consulate in Brussels, their first contact with Jessika occurred on October 31, a few days after her detention. The Brazilian, born in Goiânia, had been living in Portugal since August 2023. Previously, the consulate stated that they had no information about Jessika's whereabouts but later clarified that there had been a communication failure. “Unfortunately, there was a mix-up in the information, but we did provide support to Jessika,” said one of the diplomats involved in the case.

According to lawyer Priscila Corrêa, who was contacted by Jessika for help, the Brazilian was stopped by police while walking in Brussels. During the stop, officers asked for her documents, including her passport. The police identified in her passport that she had exceeded the 90-day period allowed for tourists to stay in the European territory.

Jessika told the lawyer that she tried to explain to the officers that she was living in Portugal and waiting for a residence permit. She mentioned having used a mechanism called "Manifestação de Interesse" (Expression of Interest), which was valid at the time for regularization requests in Portugal but was discontinued in June of this year.

Bureaucracy and Difficulty Proving the Situation

The officers then requested that Jessika provide proof of the application made to the Portuguese government. However, according to Priscila Corrêa, the Brazilian was unable to provide the application number because she had not written it down. Furthermore, the SAPA system, managed by the Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA), which allows access to such information, was offline.

Unable to provide documentation, Jessika was taken to a Detention Center. There, authorities contacted both the Brazilian and Portuguese consulates. However, the Portuguese consulate stated they needed the process number for the Manifestação de Interesse to verify her information. Since Jessika could not provide the number, she did not receive support from Portuguese authorities.

Priscila Corrêa, who tried to assist Jessika, explained that she did not have access to the police report issued by the Belgian officers, which prevented her from confirming the accuracy of Jessika's account.

“We maintained constant contact with the Detention Center and the immigration authority under the Belgian Ministry of the Interior,” said a Brazilian diplomat. He explained that Jessika was allowed to use a phone for receiving and making calls, but only for limited periods, and had restricted access to a computer to send messages. This was how she managed to contact lawyer Priscila Corrêa in Portugal.

In an email to the lawyer, Jessika explained that she had been isolated in a room for four days, from Friday to Monday, including her birthday. She also mentioned being examined by a prison doctor, who reportedly warned the police about the inappropriateness of keeping her confined for so long.

In her account, the Brazilian expressed desperation, saying she had been offered a ticket back to Brazil. However, she wanted to return to Portugal, where she claimed to have built her life.

The AIMA did not respond to questions from PÚBLICO Brasil. Meanwhile, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for the Portuguese consulate in Brussels, stated in an email to lawyer Priscila Corrêa that they were aware of Jessika's case.

The Brazilian Consulate in Brussels confirmed that Jessika had already returned to Brazil. It is noted that lawyer Priscila Corrêa, who was contacted by Jessika but was not formally her legal representative, worked with the information provided by Jessika via email and phone, without access to the Belgian police report.

Fonte: Publico.pt