The murder of Marielle Franco, a city councillor and human rights activist from Rio de Janeiro, hit our partner organisations in Brazil like a slap in the face. The organisations working to prevent violence in favelas feel that they could be just as badly affected at any time.
Andrea Zellhuber, Violence Prevention Unit
Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman, was shot dead in her car on the night of March 14, 2018, along with her driver Anderson Gomes, while returning from an event for the rights of black youth. The investigators and large parts of the shocked public assume that this was a political assassination. For years, she has denounced the mass murder of young people in the slums. Most recently, she sharply criticized above all the escalating police violence. Only a few days before her murder, she published a text in which she accused the 41st battalion of the Rios military police of having killed three youths in the favelas Acari and Jacarezinho.
Wave of protest spread throughout the country
With the killing of Marielle Franco, an important voice in the fight against perverted violence has been silenced. However, rallies and demonstrations have been taking place throughout Brazil since the tragic event. In the days following the violence, an unprecedented wave of protest spread throughout the country. Mass demonstrations took place in all the major cities. Tens of thousands took to the streets throughout the country. The resistance against the escalating violence is now continuing all the more vehemently.
Partner organisations severely affected but at the same time spurred on
In addition to a broad solidarity among the population, our partner organisations cannot be silenced. Eduardo Machado of the organization Cipo puts it like this: "Marielle's body has passed away, but her aura, her thinking, her will to change, her fight against racism, against mass murder of young people and women, this remains present and becomes even stronger.
Take a look at the entire statement by Eduardo Machado:
Life in Brazil is dangerous for human rights defenders
The case of Marielle Franco is anything but an isolated incident; it is only the tip of the iceberg. Brazil is a society in which violence is normalised and which is torn apart by social conflicts and tensions. According to Amnesty International, in 2017 Brazil was the country where the most human rights defenders in the world were murdered. According to the Brazilian Committee for Legal Defenders, at least 62 human rights defenders were killed last year. In May 2017, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, described the level of violence against human rights defenders as alarming.
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