A judge in an Amazon state sentenced a rancher to 30 years in prison for ordering the killing of US nun and rain forest defender Dorothy Stang, a case that could open the door to justice in the largely lawless region.
Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, 36, was convicted on Tuesday of masterminding the shooting of 73-year-old Stang on Feb. 12, 2005, deep in the rain forest she had been defending for decades.
Stang was killed in a dispute over a piece of land she wanted to preserve and ranchers wanted to cut down for development. She has been compared to Chico Mendes, the rubber tapper and union leader shot dead in 1988 in the western Amazon state of Acre.
Judge Raymond Moises Alves Flexa said Moura "showed a violent personality unsuited to living in society," adding that the "killing was carried out in violent and cowardly manner."
The 30-year sentence is the maximum in Brazil, which does not have the death penalty.
Stang's brother, Thomas Stang, who flew to Brazil for the trial, was overcome with emotion as he heard the verdict.
"We've been a long time waiting to exhale," he said. "Dorothy was accused of being a Christian and was one of the few people to have been found guilty."
Thomas Stang's twin brother, David, said the ruling paved the way for Regivaldo Galvao, the other rancher accused of ordering the killing, to stand trial.
Galvao, who is richer and better connected than Moura, remains free on bail while his lawyers continue to file motions aimed at avoiding prosecution.
Stang, a naturalized Brazilian originally from Dayton, Ohio, had been organizing poor settlers around the jungle town of Anapu for the last 23 years of her life.
About 200 settlers from Anapu celebrated the verdict.
"I'm happy because she was a great woman and didn't deserve to be killed," said Eliete Prado, an elderly woman who made an 18-hour bus trip over dirt roads from Anapu to attend the trial.
Human rights defenders called the decision "historic."
Moura is only the fifth mandante, or mastermind, of a land-related killing to be convicted and the only one behind bars.
The judge said Moura must remain imprisoned pending appeal. But because he is a first offender sentenced to more than 20 years, he is automatically granted a new trial under Brazilian law.
"It's going to open the doors and maybe show people there can be justice in Brazil," said Marselha Goncalves Margerin, a program officer with the Washington-based Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights. "As a Brazilian I'm proud this has happened."
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
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
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across
RSS