Case History: José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were killed on 24 May 2011. They were ambushed near their home 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.
On 4 April 2013, a jury in Marabá, in the state of Pará, Brazil, sentenced Lindonjonson Silva Rocha and Alberto Lopes do Nascimento to prison terms of 42 to 45 years respectively for the May 2011 murders of human rights defenders Maria do Espírito Santo and José Claudio da Silva.
José Rodrigues Moreira, who is accused of masterminding the killings, was acquitted as a result of a lack of sufficient evidence.
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva was a member of environmentalist group Conselho Nacional das Populações Extrativistas – CNS (National Council of Extractive Populations), and a leader of the Projeto Agroextrativista Praialta-Piranheira (Agro-extractive Project Praialta-Piranheira) in Nova Ipixuna, in Pará State.
On 4 April 2013, a jury in Marabá, in the state of Pará, Brazil, sentenced Lindonjonson Silva Rocha and Alberto Lopes do Nascimento to prison terms of 42 to 45 years respectively for the May 2011 murders of human rights defenders Maria do Espírito Santo and José Claudio da Silva.
José Rodrigues Moreira, who is accused of masterminding the killings, was acquitted as a result of a lack of sufficient evidence.
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva were killed on 24 May 2011. They were ambushed near their home 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.
The hearing started on 3 April 2013 and lasted two days, with a total of sixteen witnesses heard. The jury came to the conclusion that there was enough evidence only against the two perpetrators of the crime and that the prosecutor had failed to establish that José Rodrigues Moreira ordered the killings.
The prosecutor Ms Ana Maria Magalhães has declared that, while she is satisfied with the sentencing of Lindonjonson and Alberto, she will appeal the acquittal of José Rodrigues and request a new trial.
Minister Ms Maria do Rosário Nunes, head of the Secretary of Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, has expressed regret for the acquittal of José Rodrigues and stated that “justice will only be reached when the mastermind of this crime is punished.” She also added that “Brazil vehemently condemns the existence of groups of hired killers and hopes justice will be delivered whenever a violation of human rights occur in this country.”
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.
Front Line believes that the killings of human rights defenders Adelino Ramos, José Cláudio Ribeiros da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo da Silva are directly related to their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights and in particular to their efforts concerning land rights and the protection of the Amazonian rainforest.
