Court denies habeas corpus for Oruam; defense will appeal

The Rio de Janeiro Court denied a habeas corpus request made by the defense of rapper Oruam , who has been in prison since July 22 , accused of attempted murder for allegedly throwing stones at civil police officers.

In a decision published on Wednesday 6 and signed by Judge Marcia Perrini Bodart, of the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, the judiciary reaffirmed that the arrest is necessary to “guarantee public order”.

The artist's defense requested that the pretrial detention be converted to alternative sentences during the trial. The lawyers believe that Oruam—the stage name of Mauro Davi dos Santos Nepomuceno—is a victim of prejudice, and the detention is "illegal and unnecessary."

In the request for sentence conversion, the defense noted that six small stones were found, and only one of them would have been heavy enough to cause harm to a person. Even so, it was not proven that it was thrown by any of the people in the house.

CartaCapital , lawyer Fernando Henrique Cardoso Neves, who represents the artist, said he will appeal the judge's decision.

The case

The incident that led to the arrest took place on the night of July 21st . Oruam was charged with attempted first-degree murder against Civil Police officers. He was at home with a group of people who allegedly threw rocks at the officers.

That day, police were searching for a minor who was at Oruam's house in the Joá neighborhood, west of Rio de Janeiro. He was arrested on July 22, and the following week he was charged with attempted murder.