Case Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva e José Claudio Ribeiro da Silva - International associations complain and see contradiction in jury in Para - Brazil

The dissatisfaction and the feeling of "contradiction" took care of members of representatives of movements struggle for human rights and land on the evening of Thursday (4), with the decision of the jury to acquit the rancher Jose Rodrigues Moreira, accused of ordering the couple extractive Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva and Jose Claudio Ribeiro da Silva, killed in May 2011 in New Ipixuna (582 miles from Bethlehem).

At the trial which lasted two days, in Maraba (685 km from Belém), the seven jurors understood that there was no evidence against Rodrigues, but condemned the two people accused of crime material: Lindonjonson Silva Rocha was sentenced to 42 years and eight months and Alberto Lopes Birth to 45 years in prison.

For Attila Roque, executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, the result of partial condemnation of the accused was frustrating. He said there is a clear contradiction in punishing the murderer and the alleged mastermind amnesty.

"The main concern with the outcome of our trial is the fact that there is a certain contradiction. Again we see that the perpetrators are held accountable alone, while the principals come free of any accountability," he said.

To Roque, the ruling of Judge Murilo also brought troubling nuance of blame victims for their own deaths. "From what I hear, the text of the sentence criminalizes José Claudio and Maria do Espírito Santo, accusing them of alleged aggravation of the conflict in the field. They were accused of having fueled the conflict. This pattern of criminalizing social movements and is known and regrettable. Their story is pacification of conflict, always seek legal institutions in order to try to rectify the situation. legality They struggled.'s very shocking has appointed them as participants in the crime, "he said.

The Foundation representative RLA (Right Livelihood Award, its acronym in English) - which promotes the Alternative Nobel Prize - Argentine biologist Raúl Montenegro, said that despite the acquittal of the alleged mastermind be "regrettable" the two convictions improve to help Brazil's image in the issue of impunity in the struggle for land ownership.
"When you condemn two of the three defendants with sentences of 42 and 45 years, which is a pity strong, you do justice somehow.'s Important to realize that conviction," he said.

Comparisons with cases Dorothy Stang and Eldorado dos Carajás
Faced with yet another acquittal of alleged mastermind of crimes in Para emblematic, comparisons with the case of the massacre of Eldorado dos Carajás (in 1996) and the death of American missionary Dorothy Stang in 2005, gave the keynote of post-jury comments.

"This reflects the difficulty in Pará to condemn those who ordered the crimes. Well as in both cases, when the first trials were canceled, and then the second, in Bethlehem, got the condemnation of constituents," said attorney José Batista Gonçalves , CPT (Pastoral Land Commission).

According to Batista, the outcome of the trial on Wednesday that the CPT will ask the next popular juries are made in Bethlehem, not in most districts of the interior. "Let's ask this to prevent situations like those experienced in these cases," he said.

For the promoter Danyllo Necklaces Pompey, the result can be explained by cultural issues in the region. "I think the Para society is not yet ready to condemn instigators of crimes, perhaps for fear of the economic might of him," he said, citing the case also American missionary Dorothy Stang