Brazil: Supreme Court Accepts Complaint Against Intellectual Authors of Marielle Franco’s Murder
Marielle Franco. Photo: X/ @radio3trelew
June 19, 2024 Hour: 1:59 pm
They are involved with the paramilitary mafias that operate in Rio de Janeiro’s poor neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian Supreme Court accepted the charges against a legislator, an official, and a former police chief who are accused of ordering the assassination of Marielle Franco in 2018.
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The accused are federal legislator Jose Brazao, his brother Domingos Brazao, who is an official of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Accounts, and Rivaldo Barbosa, the former chief of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police.
The members of the First Panel of the Supreme Court unanimously accepted the charges after analyzing the accusations presented by the Prosecutor’s Office and considering that there are “consistent” indications of the responsibility of these people in Franco’s assassination.
“There is clear evidence of the involvement of the accused in the crimes of homicide and illicit association,” stated the Prosecutor’s Office, adding that these citizens are involved with the paramilitary mafias known as “militias” that operate in Rio de Janeiro’s poor neighborhoods.
The defense of the accused argued that the “only supposed evidence” is merely the accusations of Ronnie Lessa, a former Rio de Janeiro police officer and militia member, who confessed to being the material author of the assassination.
As part of a judicial cooperation agreement, Lessa stated that the three accused hired him to assassinate the socialist councilwoman, who had denounced the militias’ activities and real estate dealings in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The lawyers for the three defendants argue that Lessa made these statements with the intention of reducing his sentence but offered “no documentary evidence.”
Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes were shot to death on March 14, 2018. From the beginning, the public suspected that far-right politicians were interfering in the investigations of the case being conducted by the Rio de Janeiro police. In mid-2023, the case was transferred to federal authorities, and the investigation then accelerated, leading to the capture of the three accused in March.
The councilwoman from the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) was 38 years old when she was killed. Born in a favela, this Black lesbian woman gained public notoriety due to her unwavering fight in defense of human rights and the combat against mafias in Rio de Janeiro.
Source: EFE
teleSUR/ JF
