PF opens investigation into graffiti threatening rape and racist insults on UFPE buildings; rector says he will reinforce security

The Federal Police reported that they received a letter from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) denouncing the racist and misogynistic graffiti found on two buildings on the campus located in Cidade Universitária, in the West Zone of Recife (see video above).

The apocryphal messages contained threats of rape and attacks on Marielle Franco and those killed in the Covid-19 pandemic (see images at the end of this report). In a statement, the corporation confirmed that the case was forwarded to the specialized police station and said that it does not comment on ongoing investigations.

In an interview with TV Globo, the rector of UFPE, Alfredo Gomes, stated that the institution is also taking administrative measures and reinforcing security on campus.

"We want to find out exactly what time it happened, if there were people working, that we generally have security guards. We have a security company that is hired, outsourced, to find out if they witnessed it, what the information is, there is also an investigation taking place within the Federal University of Pernambuco", he said.

Hate speech

This Thursday afternoon (12), TV Globo returned to UFPE. Some walls still have graffiti. In others, students posted posters rejecting hateful messages. There are also walls that have already been painted white in the Arts and Communication Center (CAC). In addition to the CAC, the Center for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CFCH) was hit by graffiti.

"We deeply repudiate the action, which is a violent action, by certain groups that do not accept spaces of freedom, of plurality, such as the university, and especially the Federal University of Pernambuco. We recorded the graffiti through video, we made contact through official letters, but also in other ways with the Federal Police, and we asked for an investigation to identify those responsible and impose punishments", he said.

The general coordinator of the Central Student Directory (DCE), Ysa Dias, said that this is not the first time that the university has been the target of graffiti with hate speech.

— Ysa Dias, coordinator of DCE-UFPE