(1 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 31 October 2024
1. Various of journalists in viewing area above courtroom
2. Judge Lucia Glioche reading final sentence in case of the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco
3. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Lucia Glioche, judge:
"Justice has arrived for you, Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz. You have been found guilty by the jury of the 4th Court of the Jury. 78 years and 9 months in prison for defendant Ronnie. 59 years and 8 months in prison for defendant Élcio."
4. Franco’s family arriving at news conference after trial
5. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Anielle Franco, Marielle Franco’s sister and Brazil’s minister for racial equality:
“We leave with the certainty that we did our job, but the fight still goes on. We won’t stop here. There are many things to come. In 2018 I gave an interview saying I’d honor my sister’s blood and memory. And this, today, is about all the times we didn’t stop. It is a scream that was stuck in our throats.”
6. Marielle’s family, lawyers and friends applauding
STORYLINE:
A judge on Thursday handed down long sentences to two former police officers for the 2018 murder of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco, an icon of Brazil’s political left whose killing sparked outrage.
Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz were sentenced to almost 79 years and almost 60 years, respectively, for the March 14, 2018 drive-by shooting that killed Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes.
Jurors found that Lessa fired the gun and de Queiroz was the wheelman on the night of the crime.
Lessa and de Queiroz, arrested in 2019, previously signed plea bargains confessing their roles, but the jury had final word on their guilt on homicide and other charges.
The verdict, although expected, comes as a measure of solace to the many who saw the martyrdom of the Black, bisexual woman as an attack on democracy, and worried that the crime would go unpunished.
The prosecutors had argued each man should be sentenced to the maximum possible 84 years for the three counts — double homicide, attempted homicide and driving a cloned vehicle.
Brazilian law does not allow for life imprisonment, and each man will serve no more than 30 years of their sentences.
Due to their sealed plea bargains, local media has reported that Queiroz and Lessa may serve 12 and 18 years in prison, respectively, including time already served.
Prosecutors have denied their sentenced would be reduced.
Either way, Thursday’s sentencing is seen as only a step toward justice being done, with another trial yet to come for the men accused of ordering her killing.
Known universally by her first name, Marielle, she was raised in one of Rio’s poor communities known as favelas.
She became known for her efforts to improve the lives of ordinary residents.
Following her election in 2016, she fought against violence targeting women while defending human rights and social programmes.
Both defendants participated in the trial by videoconference from prison.
Lessa is in Sao Paulo while de Queiroz is in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia.
Federal authorities started investigating the case in earnest once leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023.
With Lessa and de Queiroz sentenced, attention will now turn to the men accused of ordering the hit: two brothers with purported ties to criminal groups known as militias, which illegally charge residents for various services, including protection.
AP video shot by: Mario Lobão
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