Item:
I have clipped quite a bit of coverage of the Rio militia phenomenom over the past several years and continue find it to be symptomatic of post-Carnavalesque side of the cidade maravilha one hears very little about.
The capture and torture of journalists from the O Dia daily sent a clear message to the press: butt out.
Early today, Judge Elizabeth Machado Louro of Rio de Janeiro released former Rio city councilmember Jerônimo “Jerominho” Guimarães; his brother, former state lawmaker Natalino Guimarães; his sone, Luciano Guinâncio Guimarães; and Leandro “The Bone Crusher” Paixão Viegas, on charges of attempted murder. After 20 hours of deliberation, a jury voted 4-3 in favor of a not guilty verdict.
These men used their hegemony over lower class neighborhoods to deliver the vote needed to elect them. Shooting wars broke out between political parties from time to time. Above, the militia symbol for the Batman gang marks territory for the group’s protection racket.
The four men were tried for the suspected murder of van service tolltaker Marcelo Eduardo dos Santos Lopes in 2005. The indictment claimed the crime took place as the group of militiamen attempted to monopolize informal van service in the area.
In one contemporary incident, I recall the discovery of a VW van jam-packed with ninja-style black-clad corpses, above.
RIo das Pedras is another militia zone, infamous for the involvement of a top state police offical, subsequently assassinated, as its leader. As to the Justice League,
The group is currently imprisoned at the maximum security federal facility in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, from which they will return today. They are the alleged leaders of the League of Justice, one of Rio’s largest militia groups.
District attorney Viviane Tavares Henriques said it was her place to question a jury verdict, adding that she will decide whether to appeal the finding by the end of the week.
The accused arrived in Rio on Monday, February 13 and were taken to the Bangu 2 prison, where they spent three nights.
Former military police officer Ricardo “Batman”Teixeira da Cruz, is also accused of taking part in the attempted murder, but his lawyers succeeded in severing his trial from that of the other defendants. …
This is the first action that I know of taken in a matter brought before the public during a state parliamentary commission of inquiry undertaken by state lawmaker Marcelo Freixo in 2008. Clip the commission report to file for future reference:
The inquiry indicted 218 persons including police and firemen and elected officials.
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