Brazil: Former Rio de Janeiro Cop Identified as Marielle Franco’s Killer | Democracy Now!

22.1.19

Brazil: Former Rio de Janeiro Cop Identified as Marielle Franco’s Killer | Democracy Now!: In Brazil, a former Rio de Janeiro police officer with ties to organized crime has been identified as the likely killer of prominent human rights and gay rights activist and city councilmember Marielle Franco, who was shot dead along with her driver in Rio de Janeiro in March. According to a police report reviewed by The Intercept, six witnesses have identified the ex-cop as the killer. The officer—who has not been publicly named—had been kicked out of Rio’s military force and now works as a mercenary for dirty politicians and others. The witnesses say the gunman did not act alone. No arrests have been made. Franco was a longtime critic of Brazil’s police, who have been linked to hundreds of killings and thousands of incidents of brutality in Rio’s impoverished favela neighborhoods.