Inter-American court convicts Brazil for human rights violations

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced on Thursday two convictions against Brazil for human rights violations committed by the police. 

The court convicted Brazil for the 2000 murder of Antonio Tavares Pereira, a member of the left-wing Landless Workers Movement (MST). Mr. Pereira was shot and killed by a police officer in the southern city of Campo Largo during a protest for land reform. Another 184 people were injured in the confrontation.

The IACHR concluded that the Brazilian state violated the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression by blocking the demonstrators, unlawfully murdered Mr. Pereira, and used disproportionate force and failed to protect people (including children) by using tear gas, rubber bullets, and other weapons against the crowd of demonstrators. The state also “omitted to carry out a complete and exhaustive analysis on the necessity and proportionality” of the police’s actions.

The ruling, issued in November 2023, orders Brazil to provide medical and psychological assistance to the family of the late Mr. Pereira and to hold a public ceremony to recognize its international responsibility for the case. Brazil must also pay USD 80,000 in compensation to Mr. Pereira’s family.

On the same day, the IACHR also announced a conviction in another case related to a 2002 police operation in the state of São Paulo known as “Operation Little Castelo,” after the road where it took place. 

Police officers fired some 700 bullets at a bus they had ordered to stop, killing 12 people who were allegedly members of a large criminal organization. Several witnesses said that the bus passengers were not carrying guns, which were in the vehicle’s luggage compartment. 

The court concluded that in this case, too, the state failed to conduct an investigation, clarify the facts within a reasonable time, or offer compensation to the victims’ families. The court ordered Brazil to pay USD 80,000 to the families of each of the 12 victims and additional compensation to certain individuals. Similarly, Brazil must also acknowledge responsibility for the killings.

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