c. 2007 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ A Brazilian landowner will stand trial Monday (May 14) for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an American nun in February 2005.
Sister Dorothy Stang, a native of Dayton, Ohio, was member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who devoted decades of her life to supporting the rights of landless workers in the northern Brazilian state of Para. She was murdered on a muddy track in the Amazon rain forest at the age of 73 _ found dead from six bullets.
Wealthy landowners typically don’t go to trial in Brazil, said Jeff Hsu, a lawyer with Heller Ehrman in Washington. The firm has represented Stang’s family, working with Brazilian prosecutors in trying to ensure there are fair trials in the case.
“In terms of justice being served for Sister Dorothy, this is a huge moment … not just for her, but for the poor of Brazil whom she worked to protect,” Hsu said of the trial.
Three men have already been convicted for their roles in the murder _ two hired gunmen, called “pistoleiros,” and one middleman. The new trial _ of Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura, one of two landowners suspected of ordering Stang’s murder _ begins in Para just as Pope Benedict XVI makes his first visit to the world’s most populous Catholic country.
“From the way we understand the testimony thus far that’s resulted in (three) convictions, the murder weapon was found with this particular landowner,” Hsu said. “He had made threats against her for years and so had others.”
Revered by the peasants whose cause she championed, Stang was scorned by landowners and loggers. According to a BBC report last June, Stang’s murder resulted from a long-standing dispute with ranchers over an area of forest they wanted to clear for pasture. Stang wanted to declare it a sustainable development reserve.
The other landowner, Regivaldo Pereira Galvao, had been held on charges similar to those against de Moura, but was released in June after a court said that holding him violated his rights. Hsu said Galvao is thought to be in Rio de Janeiro.
“Somebody known to have threatened Sister Dorothy is living free in Rio,” Hsu said. “Sister Dorothy is lying in the grave and he’s lying on the beach.”
Marcia Mikulak, an expert on Brazil for Amnesty International, the human rights group, said a successful conviction of de Moura would be “a stand for justice.” Brazil, she said, has hundreds of cases in which marginalized citizens or environmental activists have been killed, have disappeared or have been intimidated by vigilante groups or people acting on behalf of the government’s business interests.
“Bringing someone to trial is important for Brazil to show that the laws they have are not just laws on paper,” she said.
KRE/LF END TURNERPhoto of Stang is available via https://religionnews.com
