Killer of progressive Brazilian councilor Marielle Franco sentenced to 78 years in prison and $1 million fine

Justice was delivered six years, 7 months and 17 days after the crime. “Justice is sometimes slow, blind, foolish, unfair, wrong, crooked, but it reaches. “Justice comes even for those who, like the accused, think they will always be safe from justice,” Judge Lucia Glioche of Rio de Janeiro’s Fourth Tribunal do Jury said Thursday before reading the sentences against the killers. Rio de Janeiro councilor Marielle Franco (of the Socialism and Freedom Party, PSOL) and her driver, Anderson Gomes.

After hearing the verdict of a popular jury, Lucia Glioche sentenced the perpetrators of the crime that shocked the entire country and shocked international public opinion: Ronnie Lessa, the perpetrator of the shooting, to 78 years in prison; 59 years for the driver of the vehicle, Elcio Quiroz. In addition, both must pay compensation of R$3,530,000 (about 600,000 euros) to the relatives of the victims and bear the costs of the judicial process.

There was an outpouring of emotion in the room full of Marielle Franco’s supporters after the sentencing. His parents (Marinette and Antonio), his sister (Aniele Franco, Minister of Racial Equality), his daughter (Luara), his widow (Monica Benicio) and Anderson Gomes’ widow (Agatha Reis) are embraced and applauded. At his side was Marcelo Freixo, one of the public figures who had historically led the fight against ArmyParamilitary forces that were born in Rio de Janeiro and already operate in half the country. “No sentence compensates for absence. It is not happiness that I feel, but relief to see for the first time some physicality and responsibility with all this,” Monica Benicio, Marielle’s widow, wrote on her social networks.

Reactions to the sentence were immediate. “If successive governments in Rio de Janeiro were not colluding with organized crime and bandits killing in the name of the interests of the powerful, we would have Marielle among us. Justice has taken a very important step today,” Marcelo Freixo, who went into exile in Spain after receiving death threats, wrote on his social networks. First Lady, Janja da Silva, said that Marielle Franco faced the extent of gender-based political violence: “She saw her life disrupted, her voice silenced. But we are here, fighting every day for justice and combating all forms of violence against women so that families like Mariel’s are no longer destroyed by misogyny.”

Marielle Franco’s father Antonio expressed peace after the murderers’ conviction, declaring that the fight continues: “Now, the question we are going to ask is: When will the perpetrators (of the crime) be convicted?” António Chiquinho and Domingos Brazão (historically linked politicians) were referring to militia) and Rivaldo Barbosa, representative of the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, who took office the day before Marielle Franco’s assassination, having been appointed by Bolsonaro’s vice president, Walter Souza Braga Netto. The three are being tried by the Supreme Federal Court (STF), as they have a privileged forum.

Who killed Marielle?

During the first day of the trial, the killers revealed that real estate was the motivation behind the crime. Chiquinho Brazão, who chairs the Urban Affairs Commission of the Rio de Janeiro Plenary Session, introduced legislation to regularize an illegal condominium in Jacarepagua, one of the areas where militia Its implementation is more. Mariel Franco was protesting against real estate speculation in Brazao and fighting so that low-income people could occupy said land.

The involvement of Chiquinho and Domingos Brazão in the death of Marielle Franco was an open secret, anticipated by The Intercept Brazil in January. However, the complicity of police representative Rivaldo Barbosa in the crime was a real surprise, because Mariel Franco’s family blindly trusted his commitment. The Federal Police (PF) report accused Barbosa of obstructing the investigation of the murder of Mariel Franco, as well as crimes of the Escortario do Crime faction. militia Supported by the Brazeau brothers.

The “federalization” of the Mariel crime investigation placed the case in the hands of the central government and paved the way for the Lula government to introduce the proposed Constitutional Amendment of Justice (PEC), a new regulatory framework that would allow the police federal to intervene. Gives. Army“This has already happened in the case of Mariel Franco. It took Rio de Janeiro police five years to uncover the crime, but they did not. The federal police entered with seven people and uncovered this regrettable crime,” Justice and Public Security Minister Ricardo Lewandowski said yesterday as he presented the PEC to the governors of Brazil’s 27 states.

After the convictions against Ronnie Lessa and Elcio Queiroz, two questions once again dominated Brazilian social networks, “Who gave the order to kill Marielle?” and “Who hid the crime?” The second indirectly points towards Jair Bolsonaro. For many, the fact of naming a police representative for involvement in the crime the day before raises a new question: Did the former president know that Marielle Franco was about to be assassinated?

Bolsonaro, in the shadows

The Bolsonaro family has historical ties to the Brazão brothers. Chiquinho Brazão and Flávio Bolsonaro grew up together politically, first as councilor and later as regional representative. Flavio Bolsonaro voted in favor of Domingos Brazao to take charge of the State Accounting Court (TCU), a post he held before being arrested last March. Both families are linked to the Escortario do Crime, a type of elite gunman agency that specializes in assassinating people who oppose real estate interests. militia,

On the other hand, Ronnie Lessa, one of the crime desk’s most reputed hitmen, was Jair Bolsonaro’s neighbor in the Vivandas da Barra condominium in Rio de Janeiro. On March 14, 2018, a few hours before the murder of Marielle Franco, Eliseo Queiroz visited the Vivandas da Barra condominium. Alessio assured Target that he was moving to Jair Bolsonaro’s residence number 58. The concierge told Globo TV’s Jornal Nacional that a voice on the other end of the phone he identified as Jair authorized his entry. Hours before Mariel was murdered, Ronnie Lessa and Eliseo Queiroz left Jair Bolsonaro’s condominium together. In addition, the Bolsonaro family was very close to Adriano da Nóbrega, head of Ronnie Lessa, the leader of the crime desk. Flavio Bolsonaro appointed his mother and wife to his cabinet in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (Elgar). And he gave the medal of merit to Antonio da Nóbrega. On the other hand, the most famous corruption case of Flavio Bolsonaro is streakinhaReal estate is related to speculation. The Public Ministry proved that Flavio Bolsonaro confiscated 40% of the salaries of his cabinet officials in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro and gave it to António da Nóbrega, who invested it in illegally constructed buildings. militia,

The ball of revelations in the Mariel case is now in the court of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The fate of the Brazeau brothers and former representative Rivaldo Barbosa lies in the hands of Alexandre de Moraes, the most hated Supreme Court judge. Bolsonarism.

Still, it’s difficult to know all the details of the crime that shocked the world: Antonio de Nóbrega was mysteriously murdered in February 2020 while trying to avoid a prison sentence. That day, Jair Bolsonaro described Nóbrega as “a hero”.