Court finds GM seed pusher Syngenta responsible for murder and attempted murder.

[JohnyCanuck]

Syngenta convicted: Justice finds company responsible for armed attack on encamped rural workers

A court has found Syngenta Seeds, a Swiss company producing genetically modified food and pesticides, responsible for the murder of rural worker Valmir Mota de Oliveira (known as Keno) and for the attempted murder of Isabel do Nascimento de Souza. Both of them were members of Via Campesina and were victims of an armed militia attack in 2007.

The court sentence, given by Judge Pedro Ivo Moreiro, of the 1st Civil Court of Cascavel, was published in the Paraná State Official Gazette this Tuesday (17). The sentence rules that the company shall pay compensation to Keno’s family and to Isabel for the moral and material damage it caused. The case was taken to court in 2010, as an attempt to get a response from the State regarding Syngenta being responsible for the attack perpetrated by private armed militia.

The sentence has been well received by social movements and human rights organizations, since making companies accountable for human rights violations is a challenge of global dimensions. “Transnational companies currently have considerable freedom to operate on a transnational basis, but there are no national or international norms or mechanisms sufficient to oblige companies to respect human rights or to hold them accountable for cases of human rights violations. In this case, Syngenta having been found responsible is an exception to the rule”, explains Terra de Direitos’ lawyer, Fernando Prioste, who has been accompanying the case.

The judge found that the fact that took place on Syngenta’s property was nothing less than a massacre. In his sentence the judge states that “to refer to what happened as a confrontation is to close one’s eyes to reality, since there is no doubt that, in truth, it was a massacre disguised as repossession of property”. The version put forward by Syngenta was thus rejected by the Judiciary Branch. The company claimed that the attack that took place in 2007 was the result of a confrontation between militiamen and members of Via Campesina.

http://terradedireitos.org.br/en/2015/11/18/syngenta-condenada-justica-responsabiliza-empresa-morte-de-sem-terra-no-parana/

[LiberalAndProud]

1. Is Syngenta subject to the death penalty?

I think not, but it should be.

[roody]

2. In what country is this?

[brooklynite]

4. Brazil

[Octafish]

3. Gee. This news isn't on tee vee or NPR.

Important story. Hope the decision sticks and opens the door for future prosecutions.

Thank you JohnyCanuck!

[PuraVidaDreamin]

5. Kick

N/t

[enough]

6. k&r (nt)