Court convicts three defendants in Unaí massacre.

Kelly Oliveira
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia – The Federal Court in Minas Gerais sentenced three defendants in the early hours of today (31) accused of participating in murdered The murders involved three labor inspectors and a driver from the Ministry of Labor. The crime occurred on January 28, 2004, in the city of Unaí (MG), and became known as the Unaí Massacre. In total, eight people are accused of committing the crimes.

Erinaldo de Vasconcelos Silva, Rogério Alan Rocha Rios, and William Gomes de Miranda were convicted of aggravated homicide and criminal conspiracy. The harshest sentence was given to Rios: 94 years in prison under a closed regime.

Silva, who confessed and benefited from a plea bargain, was sentenced to 76 years and 20 days in prison under a closed regime. Miranda received a sentence of 56 years in prison under a closed regime.

The nine years they spent in prison will be counted towards their sentence. In addition, they may have their sentences reduced for work done in prison.

Of the five defendants who are responding to the charges while free, four are scheduled to begin their trial on September 17th. Farmer Norberto Mânica and businessmen Hugo Alves Pimenta and José Alberto de Castro are accused of aggravated homicide. They are accused of participating in the crime as masterminds and intermediaries. Mânica also faces charges of resisting arrest and violating labor rights. Humberto Ribeiro dos Santos is accused of forming a criminal gang.

The trial date for the eighth defendant, farmer Antério Mânica, brother of Norberto, has not yet been set. Considered one of the largest bean producers in the country, he was elected mayor of Unaí a few months after the crime and re-elected in 2008. According to the Federal Police, the Mânica brothers are the main masterminds behind the crime.

The ninth defendant, Francisco Elder Pinheiro, accused of hiring the gunmen, died in January of this year at the age of 77.

For almost nine years, the main defendants managed to delay the trial by filing successive appeals with the courts. The latest setback, however, was a legal dispute stemming from the decision of Judge Raquel Vasconcelos Alves de Lima, of the Federal Court of Belo Horizonte, who declared herself incompetent to judge the defendants, ordering that the jury trial be transferred from the capital of Minas Gerais to Unaí. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office appealed the decision and managed to keep the trial in the capital of Minas Gerais. Judge Raquel Vasconcelos herself presides over the jury trial.