The Brazilian government has promised to pay compensation to a US pastor who was arrested, beaten and tortured in 1974 under the former military dictatorship.
The Reverend Frederick Birten Morris of the United Methodist Church will be compensated 285,000 reals (US$154,000) plus a monthly pension of 2,000 reals, the Justice Ministry said on its Web site.
The decision was made on Friday night by the Justice Ministry’s Amnesty Commission, which is reviewing the cases of victims the 1964 to 1985 dictatorship.
Morris is currently the president of Faith Partners of the Americas, a Florida-based nonprofit that seeks to build ties between churches and people in the Americas. Phone calls to Morris’ home and cellphone and to his organization went unanswered on Saturday.
The Methodist Church in Brazil directed reporters to its Web site, which said the pastor arrived in the northeastern city of Recife in 1963 and was tasked with fostering closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church. He also worked as a freelance correspondent for Time magazine.
In 1974, Time published an article praising Catholic Archbishop Helder Camara — an outspoken critic of the dictatorship dubbed the “Red Bishop” by the regime. Though Morris had not contributed to the piece, the Methodist Church said, it irritated local army commanders who ordered his arrest.
During 16 days in captivity in an army barracks, Morris was beaten and tortured with electric shocks several times before being released and deported.
Unlike other South American nations such as Argentina and Chile, Brazil has never prosecuted any member of the armed forces for human rights abuses under its dictatorship. A 1979 amnesty law pardoned all Brazilians — civilian and military — for crimes committed under the dictatorship.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Polish presidential candidates offered different visions of Poland and its relations with Ukraine in a televised debate ahead of next week’s run-off, which remains on a knife-edge. During a head-to-head debate lasting two hours, centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing pro-European coalition, faced the Eurosceptic historian Karol Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing populist Law and Justice party (PiS). The two candidates, who qualified for the second round after coming in the top two places in the first vote on Sunday last week, clashed over Poland’s relations with Ukraine, EU policy and the track records of their
RSS