Two more convicted for the Felisburgo Massacre.
A court in Minas Gerais sentenced Francisco de Assis Rodrigues de Oliveira and Milton Francisco de Souza to 102 years in prison for their alleged involvement in the 2014 attack on the Terra Prometida encampment, which resulted in the deaths of five landless workers. They deny any involvement and claim they were implicated in the accusations as revenge. The owner of the farm occupied by the landless workers, Adriano Chafik Luedi, accused of ordering the massacre, was sentenced to over 100 years but is appealing while free.
Alex Rodrigues - Reporter, Agência Brasil
Brasilia – The Justice Department of Minas Gerais has sentenced two more defendants in the trial concerning the so-called Felisburgo Massacre, which occurred in November 2004, in which five landless workers were killed and another 12 were injured. Francisco de Assis Rodrigues de Oliveira and Milton Francisco de Souza were sentenced to 102 years and six months in prison each for attempted murder, aggravated murder, and for setting fire to the Terra Prometida encampment, set up by the landless. The sentence for the defendants, who will appeal while free, was announced at approximately 1:30 am today (24).
During the trial, which began yesterday morning, three defense witnesses were heard. Following this, the jury heard Oliveira, who stated that he had not killed anyone. Oliveira maintained that he was in a bar on the day of the crime, a version confirmed by one of the three defense witnesses. Oliveira believes his name was dragged into the case out of revenge.
The hypothesis of revenge was also mentioned by Souza, who testified immediately after Oliveira. In both cases, the revenge could, according to the convicted men, be linked to accusations that, shortly before the massacre, the two had participated in the theft of cattle from the farm of Adriano Chafik Luedy, already convicted as the mastermind behind the attack on the landless peasants. In their defense, Souza and Oliveira pointed out that the tests they underwent did not indicate the presence of gunpowder residue.
During the trial, Souza felt unwell and had to be taken for external medical attention. With the agreement of Souza and Oliveira's lawyer, Heleno Batista Vieira, the session continued. Vieira argued that his clients were framed in an attempt to find culprits for a crime of national importance, even though they had nothing to do with the case, which is why, unlike other suspects, they did not flee, remaining in Felisburgo until they were arrested.
Of the 15 people indicted by the Public Prosecutor's Office, ten remain fugitives. The owner of the farm occupied by the landless peasants, Adriano Chafik Luedi, and Washington Agostinho da Silva were convicted in October 2013, but are awaiting, while free, the judgment of the injunction from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) that guaranteed them the right to appeal the decision while at liberty. Luedi was sentenced to 115 years in prison. Silva, to 97 years and six months. Another defendant, Admilson Rodrigues Lima, died before being brought to trial.