The sister, left, and the widow of slain Brazilian councilwoman Marielle Franco embrace after a judge sentenced two former police officers for the 2018 murder of Franco and his driver Anderson Gomes at a court in Rio de Janeiro on October 31, 2024 | Photo Credit: AP
A Brazilian judge on Thursday (October 31, 2024) sentenced two former police officers to decades behind bars. Murder of Rio de Janeiro city council member Mariel Franco in 2018 And his driver.
Ronnie Lessa and Elcio de Queiroz, who pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors, were sentenced to 78 years and nine months and 59 years and eight months in prison, respectively, for shooting Franco and Anderson Gomes in their car on March 14, 2018. Was ordered to be punished. ,
A rising star in Brazil’s Socialism and Liberty Party, Franco was a black and gay progressive council member who was born in a poor area of Rio. His death at the age of 38 led to nationwide protests by Brazilians fed up with endemic violence.
Brazil’s justice minister has said Franco’s plan to build housing for the poor is aimed at powerful interests. “Justice is being served, even if justice will never be complete for us after Marielle’s death,” Anielle Franco, the politician’s sister and Brazil’s minister of racial equality, said after the sentencing on Thursday.
FILE – Councilwoman Mariel Franco poses for a photo at the Cinelandia square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 9, 2018. Franco was shot dead in 2018. (AP Photo/Alice Rua, File) | Photo Credit: Alice Rua
Three other people are under investigation in connection with the ordering and planning of the attack by Lesa and Queiroz.
Prosecutor Eduardo Martins told reporters that the two former officers would receive only 30 years in prison, as Brazilian law at the time of the attack did not provide for longer sentences.
The decision can be appealed. Lawyers for Lessa and Queiroz did not speak to reporters after the sentencing.
published – November 01, 2024 07:48 AM IST