Brazil's Top Court: Amnesty Law Will Not Change

[Judi Lynn]

Apr. 30, 2010
Brazil's Top Court: Amnesty Law Will Not Change
Supreme Court Rejects Change In Brazil's Amnesty Law To Try Alleged Human-rights Abusers

(AP) BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - The Supreme Court has rejected a motion to modify the country's Amnesty Law so that officials accused of human-rights abuses under Brazil's military regime would have to stand trial.

The Brazilian Bar Association had submitted the proposal, arguing that torturers were excluded from the 1979 Amnesty Law pardoning both civilians and military personnel for alleged crimes committed under the 1964-1985 dictatorship.

The court voted the motion down by a vote of 7-2 on Thursday. Most justices said that the law should remain as it is because it had been approved by society as a whole, including the bar association, armed forces and political exiles.

Unlike Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, Brazil never prosecuted members of the armed forces for human rights abuses committed during the country's military rule.

Tim Cahill, Amnesty International's Brazil researcher, said Friday in an e-mailed statement that the Supreme Court's ruling was an "affront to the memory of the thousands who were killed, tortured and raped by the state that was supposed to protect them."

More:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/30/ap/latinamerica/main6447887.shtml

(my emphasis)

http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Cezar_peluso.jpg/100px-Cezar_peluso.jpg

Cezar Peluso
(President of the Court)

http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Carlos_ayres_britto.JPG/100px-Carlos_ayres_britto.JPG

Carlos Ayres Britto
(Vice-President of the Court)

http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Gilmar-Mender.jpg/100px-Gilmar-Mender.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Ministro_Celso_de_Mello.jpg/100px-Ministro_Celso_de_Mello.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Marco_aurelio_mello.jpg/100px-Marco_aurelio_mello.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/EllenGracie.jpg/100px-EllenGracie.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Eros_Grau_%282009%29_copyred.jpg/100px-Eros_Grau_%282009%29_copyred.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Ricardo_lewandowski.JPG/100px-Ricardo_lewandowski.JPG http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Carmenluciaministra.jpg/100px-Carmenluciaministra.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org.nyud.net:8090/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Toffoli_ministro_stf.jpg/100px-Toffoli_ministro_stf.jpg

Gilmar Mendes, Celso de Mello, Marco Aurélio Mello, Ellen Gracie Northfleet, Joaquim Barbosa, Eros Grau, Ricardo Lewandowski, Carmem Lúcia, Dias Toffoli

Wikipedia, Brazil Supreme Federal Court:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Federal_Court_(Brazil)

[Meshuga]

1. This outcome was expected

While I believe the people involved in the repression should be punished and while I applaud Ricardo Lewandowski and Carlos Ayres Britto for casting the only votes for the revision, I can see that reversing this law would be a difficult task.

The argument from the ministers in the STF who voted against the revision (which included a minister who was tortured by the dictatorship) is that the "Lei de Anistia" was supposed to be a pact between the regime and the resistance. It was supposed to absolve both sides for the crimes commited in order to bring peace and usher in Democracy. It was not about justice.

[Meshuga]

2. Dilma Rousseff''s opinion on the matter

I could not find comments by José Serra or Marina Silva about the court decision but Dilma Rousseff gave her opinion today in Santos. Both Serra and Dilma were target of the dictatorship so it would be interesting to see what they had to say. Rousseff was imprisoned and tortured be the military regime and Serra was forced into exile.

Dilma Rousseff says she is not in favor of revenge and asserts that the decision on the Amnesty Law should be enforced

Former Minister Dilma Rousseff, PT's candidate for presidential election, said on Friday she is not in favor of revenge and that the decision of the Supreme Court (STF), which maintained the validity of the Amnesty Law should be respected. Rousseff was part of leftist organizations that joined the armed struggle during the dictatorship. She was imprisoned and tortured.

"With regard to the amnesty, I want to say I'm not in favor of revenge. As far as the decision from the STF, whatever they decide is final. This is the highest court of the country and it must be respected as such. Now, I also make the following observation: it is crucial to remember that Brazil must never fall into a dictatorship and that there is always democracy in Brazil with freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and rights of opinion" - said Dilma, visiting Trade Association in Santos.

http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2010/04/30/dilma-diz-que-nao-a-favor-de-revanchismo-afirma-que-decisao-do-stf-sobre-lei-da-anistia-deve-ser-cumprida-916469013.asp


Dilma Rousseff eating 'pastel' at a restaurant
in Santos today (yummy! :9)

[Judi Lynn]

3. Didn't know Dilma Rousseff had been through this suffering at their hands.

Thanks for the information for those of us who haven't heard much about her.

For people who don't know what "pastels" are, I looked them up. Here's a description, connected to recipes:

Recipe of Pastel
http://www.cookbrazil.com/fillings.htm#Ground beef filling:

[Meshuga]

4. She was supposedly hung from the "pau-de-arara" every day for three weeks...

...To receive the usual electroshock (at times with car wiring) and the usual beating. Dilma said in an interview that she was sent to the hospital at one point because of bleeding from all the torture and she was advised by a hospital room mate to keep jumping and keep active to make sure the bleeding would not go away so she would not have to go back to prison and face more torture.

The torture was even harsher in other prisons where prisoners were raped and I remember reading at least one case where a man had his testicles nailed to a table.

[rabs]

5. Video (GRAPHIC) on torture in Brazil during the dictatorship

This is from LinkTV. It is an hour long.

RED-FLAGGING because it is tough to watch, may upset some.

Btw, "pau de arara" in English = "parrot's perch."

(Oops, edit because the definition was intended for Judi and others who may not know what it means, not you because you know that. Sorry about that.)

-------------------------

After the kidnapping of the Swiss Ambassador in Brazil in 1970, 70 political prisoners were released from Brazilian prisons and set free in Chile on an exchange agreement. The directors of this film, Haskell Wexler and Saul Landau, went to Chile and recorded first-hand interviews with the former prisoners, revealing the torture that was part of everyday routine interrogation in Brazilian prisons. The film shows reenactments of waterboarding, pau de arara and other medieval and modern "procedures" administered by Brazil's military government.


http://www.linktv.org/programs/brazil-a-report-on-torture