By Ellis Cortez
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BRASILIA, Brazil – Ten military police officers in Brazil are accused of torturing, murdering, and then hiding the corpse of Amarildo de Souza, a resident of the city’s biggest favela, Rocinha.
Souza, 43, was last seen by his family on July 14th, when he went to buy seasoning for the fish dinner he had bought his wife and six children. His family later learned that Souza, a bricklayer, was rounded up in a police sweep of possible drug traffickers and was taken to police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
Prosecutor Homer das Neves said that Souza, who was an epileptic, was allegedly taken for questioning, then tortured with electric shocks and suffocated with a plastic bag. Mr. Souza’s body is still missing.
Police said that Souza had been brought in for questioning and was released. The officers state they had nothing to do with his subsequent disappearance. However, a prosecutor said there was no evidence from security camera footage that Souza ever left police headquarters. There was evidence that two security cameras were turned off or burned. A court ordered the arrest of the officers who all deny any involvement.
Souza’s wife, Elizabeth, said her husband had lived in the area without any problem for 43 years. She accused the police of “pure evil” and said they had tried to coerce her into dropping the case.
The revelations are a major setback for government efforts to “pacify” favelas by using paramilitary forces to drive out drug-trafficking gangs and replace them with resident-friendly police units known as the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP).
The pacification program is a key element of Rio’s efforts to reduce crime, improve public security, and revitalize the city before the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, which are both being held in Brazil. However, favela residents have long complained that the methods used by the police are excessively brutal.
The incident was allegedly committed by members of the UPP. One of the 10 accused is the commander of the UPP in Rocinha, Edson dos Santos. It is alleged that he attempted to bribe witnesses to blame drug dealers for the killing.
Brazil’s human rights minister, Maria del Rosario, said, “what this investigation reveals is the necessity of changes so that the police are more focused, more accountable to citizens and not oriented towards criminal disregard for human rights.”
Their UPP’s involvement in Souza’s disappearance has led to protests in Rio and other cities both in Brazil and abroad. The case has drawn attention to allegations of police violence in the “pacification” of Rio’s favelas. Critics say it is indicative of a large number of disappearances in Rio and the lack of investigation into them.
For more information please see:
BBC – Brazil police charged with Rio murder over Amarildo case – 5 October 2013
CNN – 10 cops in Brazil accused of killing and hiding body – 4 October 2013
The Wall Street Journal – Police Criticized After Allegations of Torture in Rio – 3 October 2013
The Guardian – Brazil: Rio police charged over torture and death of missing favela man – 2 October 2013
