Amnesty International: Brazil faces a decisive test of its willingness to confront impunity for attacks against human rights defenders in the coming weeks, said Amnesty International amid the beginning of the trials over the murders of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes, in the Federal Supreme Court, and Maria Bernadete Pacífico, known as Mãe Bernadete, in the Bahia Jury Court.

“Justice for Marielle Franco, Anderson Gomes and Mãe Bernadette is long overdue. Their killings are emblematic of the broader and highly alarming trend of lethal violence and structural racism against human rights defenders in Brazil,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“These trials offer a historic opportunity to break the cycle of impunity that has characterized the state’s response to the killings of human rights defenders for decades. It is essential that they proceed with full independence, transparency and respect for due process. No one, regardless of their position or power, should be beyond the reach of the law.”

Emblematic killings of defenders

Marielle Franco, a black, bisexual woman from the Maré favela, a human rights defender, and a Rio de Janeiro city councilor, was murdered on 14 March 2018, alongside her driver, Anderson Gomes. This crime, for which justice has not been delivered to this day, raises many questions about gender, race and class discrimination that need to be answered.

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