For Immediate Release: May 9, 2008
Jeffrey Buchanan, 202-463-7575 ext 241
buchanan@rfkmemorial.org

RFK Center Urges Appellate Court to Ensure Justice after Previously Convicted Suspect Acquited in Sister Dorothy’s Murder

Washington D.C. --- The Brazilian rancher, Vitalmiro "Bida" Bastos de Moura, previously convicted of orchestrating the 2005 murder of Sister Dorothy Stang in Brazil, has been acquitted during a retrial, after a witness contradicted his previous testimony. Sister Dorothy, a 73-year-old nun from Ohio, worked tirelessly for more than two decades helping landless workers to realize their human rights and to protect the Brazilian Amazon from loggers and ranchers.

“RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights is deeply disappointed by this recent decision, not only for the pain it has caused the Stang Family, but for the millions of Brazilians who must now live under the continued reign of impunity in Brazil,” said Monika Kalra Varma, Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights. “The appelate court now has the responsibility to address the inconsistencies in the judgements and ensure that justice is delivered.”

Rayfran das Neves Sales, also sentenced for the death of Sister Dorothy, during this trial denied Bida had any connection to the killing. According to the Associated Press, Bida admitted to paying 100,000 real (US$60,000) to Rayfran recently, purportedly to pay for an earlier purchase of cattle. Darci Frigo, winner of the 2001 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and director of Terra de Direitos, notes that since Sister Dorothy’s death, Rayfran has changed his story 14 times.

“The decision is a serious set back for those who fight for equitable land distribution and human rights defenders in the Transamazonian and Para regions of Brazil,” said Frigo. “Impunity endangers human defenders and their supporters and gives land-grabbers a free hand to continue their practices of intimidation and environmental degradation unbridled by the law.”

Recently three Catholic Bishops from 3 different regions of Pará have been threatened for defending their communities in the midst of the land conflict in Pará. One of them, Bishop Erwin Kräutler, is under 24 hour police protection.

Frigo and RFK Center join the Brazilian Bar Association and the Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights in expressing their disappointment with this decision and its implications for human rights and the rule of law in the region.

Regivaldo Galvao, a rancher also accussed of masterminding the murder of Sister Dorothy, remains free. His trial has yet to be scheduled.

“We will be working with the Stang family, their lawyers at Heller Ehrman, and members of the international human rights community to closely follow the trial of Regivaldo and the continued investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the murder of Sister Dorothy,” said Monika Kalra Varma.

Source: The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial www.rfkmemorial.org