Before the trial begins for the death of former councilor Marielle Franco, known for her defense of the residents of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, dozens are demanding answers about it.
Dozens of mothers who saw their children die in acts of violence in Rio de Janeiro demonstrated in court this Wednesday to demand answers about the murder of former councilor Marielle Franco, known for her defense of favela residents.
A few hours before the trial began at the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, these women, the vast majority of whom were black, They held sunflowers, signs and T-shirts with the names of Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, victims of a murder in 2018.
“The day we were waiting for has arrived. After six years and seven months of fighting, it happens today [quarta-feira] (30), the trial of those accused of being the executors of Marielle and Anderson. “Marielle did it for us, we will do it for Marielle and Anderson,” the Marielle Franco Institute, which organized this Wednesday’s protest along with other social movements from several disadvantaged neighborhoods in Rio, wrote on social media.
Her sister and current Minister of Racial Equality of Brazil, Anielle Franco, was present at the court door, who defended the importance of this day which, according to her, marks the beginning of an era in which ““It is not normal to trivialize the murder of a woman with five bullets in the head.”
Earlier, through social networks, the Brazilian minister highlighted that “the holding of the jury trial for a cowardly crime against a democratically elected councilor is a moment that marks the fight against impunity and political gender violence and race in Brazil.”
Marielle Franco was a member of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), she was 38 years old, born in a favela and All his political activity was dedicated to the defense of human rights and the fight against the groups that control the popular favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
On Tuesday, the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) indicated that it will request the maximum sentence, 84 years in prison, for the executioners of the former councilor and activist Marielle Franco and the driver Anderson Gomes.
Rio de Janeiro prosecutors demand 84 years in prison for Marielle Franco’s executioners
The sentence that will be requested from the Jury Court for the defendants Ronnie Lessa and Élcio de Queiroz, who have already confessed to having been executors of the councilor and the driver in collaboration agreements with justice, will be decided in a trial that begins this Wednesday. The Jury Court will be made up of 21 ordinary people and from this group seven will be selected at random to form the jury that will analyze the case.
The two defendants were charged with double homicide, attempted homicide and receiving a vehicle that was allegedly used on the day of the crime, which occurred on March 14, 2018.
Lessa and Queiroz were arrested in Operation Lume, carried out by the MPRJ and the Civil Police, in March 2019. The defendants will be heard by videoconference, since Lessa is being held in the Tremembé Penitentiary Complex, in São Paulo, and Queiroz in the Papuda Complex. , a federal prison in Brasilia.
Source: Observadora
