Impunity - Brazil

WHEREAS the investigation into the death of Reinaldo Coutinho da Silva, who was murdered in 1995 in Rio de Janeiro, continues at a virtual standstill because the Civil Police claims difficulties in gathering evidence leading to the perpetrators and masterminds of the crime WHEREAS the investigation into the death of Manoel Leal de Oliveira, who was murdered on January 14, 1998 in Itabuna, Bahía, has made considerable progress thanks to the efforts of Judge Marcos Bandeira and the prosecution of two of the suspects in the case, one of whom, Mozart da Costa Brasil, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for aggravated homicide, but one suspect is still at large and the masterminds behind the crime have not been punished WHEREAS the investigation into the death of Edgar Lopes de Faria, who was murdered on October 29, 1997, is at a virtual standstill because the police say that there are no clues WHEREAS Paulo Sérgio Mendes Lima was tried by jury, found guilty of aggravated homicide and sentenced to 19 years and six months in prison for the murder of Ronaldo Santana de Araujo, who had also identified the mastermind behind the crime WHEREAS Orico Rodrigues was arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of television host José Carlos Mesquita, who was murdered on March 10, 1998 in Ouro Preto do Oeste, Rondônia, but there is still an arrest warrant pending for a suspect who is at large, and the masterminds behind the crime have not been found WHEREAS Judge Ronaldo Gonçalves de Souza accepted the argumentos of prosecutor Euclésio Ribeiro da Silva that there is evidence that several suspects participated in the murder of columnist Maria Nilce Magalhães on July 5, 1989 in Vitória, Espírito Santo WHEREAS former police officer Divino José de Matos, aka Divino 45, charged with the November 11, 1984 murder of journalist Mário Eugênio Rafael de Oliveira, was sent to prison, but, even though he is behind bars, the police have not identified the masterminds behind the crime WHEREAS radio reporter José Wellington Fernandes, nicknamed Zezinho Cazuza, was murdered on March 13, 2000, and the primary suspect, former mayor Genivaldo Galindo da Silva, was arrested and is awaiting trial WHEREAS the Civil Police and the Prosecutor’s Office consider Genivaldo Ferreira Nogueira, former president of the Magé City Council, and Reynaldo Polari Stumpf, who is at large, as suspects in the August 16, 2001 murder of journalist Mário Coelho de Almeida Filho WHEREAS the Civil Police have identified and arrested the killers of Tim Lopes, a reporter for TVGlobo, and the prosecution is going forward in the courts WHEREAS businessman Domingos Sávio Brandão de Lima, owner of the newspaper Folha do Estado do Mato Grosso and the radio station Cidade de Cuiabá FM, was murdered on September 30, 2002 and the Civil Police identified the murderers and the mastermind behind the case WHEREAS businessman Edgar Ribeiro Pereira de Oliveira, an owner of the weekly newspaper Boca de Povo in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, was shot to death on June 9, 2003, and the police have identified the perpetrators but not the mastermind, with some indications that the crime could be related to the businessman’s professional activities WHEREAS radio journalist Nicanor Linhares Batista, news director and owner of Radio Vale do Jaguaribe AM, was murdered on June 30, 2003 in Limoeiro do Norte, Ceará, inside the studio at the radio station itself, and the police have arrested some of those involved in the murder but are still looking for four people who are at large