By Paula Buzzi
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Fourth District Court of Sao Goncalo judge, Patricia Lourival Acioli, was murdered after being shot up to 21 times last Thursday outside her home by hooded gunmen only days after having delivered tough sentences to corrupt policemen.
According to witnesses, the gunmen were traveling on two motorbikes and shot at Acioli as she was arriving to her home in Niteroi. Acioli, 47, was a mother of three.
On Sunday, Rio de Janeiro investigators announced that, although 12 suspects have been named, finding the men responsible for her attack will be difficult due to her numerous adversaries who disagreed with her strong stance against government corruption.
In her 18-years as a judge, Acioli handed down approximately 60 sentences against policemen and former policemen which resulted in multiple death threats against her. Furthermore, Avioli’s name was also among the 12 listed in a handwritten death list issued by a recently arrested militia group.
According to Felipe Ettore, a leading investigator, the bullets used to shoot Acioli were ones typically found in the 45-caliber and 40-caliber pistols belonging to civil and military police as well as the Brazilian Armed Forces.
Patrick Wilcken, a Brazil Researcher at Amnesty International, views the killing of Avioli as a huge blow to the judicial system in Brazil. He urges Brazilian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation to bring those rose responsible to justice and provide more protection for those fighting against police corruption.
“Patrícia Acioli’s brutal killing exposes a deeply troubling situation where corruption and organized crime are controlling large areas of life in parts of Rio de Janeiro today,” Wilcken said.
In a statement earlier this week, Brazil Supreme Court President Cesar Peluso called the crimes against magistrates “barbaric” and “cowardly,” and demanded a quick investigation and the rigorous punishment of those responsible.
In recent years, off-duty police and firefighters have joined militias that have contributed to the expansion of drug gangs and organized crime in Rio de Janeiro.
Acioli’s neighbors have hung black protest banners around their neighborhood reading “Who Silenced the Voice of Justice?”
For more information, please see:
Amnesty International – Killing of Brazilian judge exposes police corruption – 16 August 2011
CNN – Brazilian judge known for tough sentences slain – 14 August 2011
Aljazeera – Hardline Brazil judge gunned down – 13 August 2011
BBC News – Brazil judge Patricia Acioli shot dead in Niteroi– 12 August 2011
