Case History: Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva

Three individuals have gone on trial in Marabá, Brazil, for the killing of human rights defenders and environmentalists José Claudio Ribeiros da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo in 2011. The trial of the man accused of ordering the killing, José Rodrigues Moreira, and the two gunmen who executed the crime, Lindonjonson Silva Rocha and Alberto Lopes do Nascimento, began on the morning of 3 April 2013 in Marabá, in the state of Pará, Brazil. Other human rights defenders and representatives of the local civil society have organised themselves in a vigil outside the court building. José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and his wife Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were killed on 24 May 2011. They were ambushed near their home by unknown individuals and shot repeatedly. They had received death threats in the past from loggers and cattle ranchers as a result of their work defending the rainforest, and had reported these threats to the police. In November 2010, at an international conference in Manaus, José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva expressed concern for his safety as a result of threats he had received, and predicted that he would be killed as a result of his work. The bodies of the couple were found inside the Praialta-Piranheira nature reserve, where they had been working for the past 24 years. The judge in charge of the case prohibited the public from taking photographs or recording images or sound of the proceedings, and attendance by journalists has been strictly controlled by the court. Special police forces have been designated to provide security in the court. The trial has made an impact in the region, not only for being one of the few cases in which the perpetrators of violent crimes have been held accountable, but also for bringing international attention to violence against human rights defenders working on environmental issues in the region.

Front Line is deeply saddened by news of the killing of three human rights defenders and environmentalists in Brazil in recent days. On 27 May 2011 land reform leader Mr Adelino 'Dinho' Ramos, was killed in the Amazonian state of Rondonia. Three days earlier Mr José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and his wife Ms Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were shot near their home in Pará State. Further Information Adelino Ramos was coordinator of the Movimiento Campones Corumbiara (Peasant Movement of Corumbiara) and he has been involved for decades in land rights issues in Brazil. José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were members of environmentalist group Conselho Nacional das Populações Extrativistas – CNS (National Council of Extractive Populations), and leaders of the Projeto Agroextrativista Praialta-Piranheira (Agro-extractive Project Praialta-Piranheira) in Nova Ipixuna, in Pará State. On 27 May 2011 Adelino Ramos was shot and killed in Porto Vehlo, the capital of Rodondia. Although the authorities have stated that an investigation has been launched into the killing, no arrests have been made to date. Adelino Ramos was a prominent land rights activist who had denounced the illegal logging activities occurring in the rain forest. In 1995 he survived a violent incident when approximately 300 police opened fire on a landless workers' camp near the town of Corumbiara, killing at least 10 people. On 24 May 2011 José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were ambushed near their home by unknown individuals and shot repeatedly. They had received death threats in the past from loggers and cattle ranchers as a result of their work defending the rainforest, and had reported said threats to the police. In November 2010, at an international conference in Manaus, José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva expressed concern for his safety as a result of threats he had received, and predicted that he would be killed as a result of his work. The bodies of the couple were found inside the Praialta-Piranheira nature reserve, where they had been working for the past 24 years. A fourth killing, on 28 May 2011, is currently being investigated by the police as it is believed that the victim may have witnessed the killings of José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva. Of further concern is that these killings occurred at the same time as amendments to the country's forest protection laws were passed in Congress. These amendments are widely believed to weaken existing environmental controls and could therefore lead to an intensification of existing disputes. The killings have taken place against a background of an ongoing campaign to silence land rights defenders in Brazil. According to the Comissão Pastoral da Terra - CPT (Pastoral Land Commission), since 1988, more than 1,150 land and environmental rights defenders, small farmers, judges, priests and other rural workers have been killed in disputes over preserving land. The murders are mostly carried out by gunmen hired by loggers, ranchers and farmers to silence protest over the illegal cutting of trees in the forests. It is reported that fewer than 100 of the cases have gone to court and only one perpetrator is currently imprisoned.