In Rio, protesters demand justice for man killed in Sergipe

Protesters gathered this Saturday morning (28) in downtown Rio de Janeiro in a protest organized by the black movement and human rights activists calling for justice for Genivaldo dos Santos, who died in Sergipe on the 25th.

The 38-year-old from Sergipe died after an approach by federal highway police. Images posted on the internet show the victim trapped inside a smoky vehicle and suspicions are that the smoke was a gas fired by the police.

The act was scheduled for 10 am on Avenida Presidente Vargas, in front of the Monument to Zumbi dos Palmares. Participants also called for an end to the massacres and what they called the genocide of black people.

The protesters carried banners and posters with slogans such as “Stop killing us” and “Black Lives Matter”, as well as an illustration of Genivaldo’s face with a request for justice.

The Legal Medical Institute (IML) of Sergipe identified, in a preliminary way, that the victim’s cause of death was acute insufficiency secondary to asphyxia.

The Federal Police and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) are investigating the case and the PRF said, in a statement released on Thursday (26), that it is committed to investigating the incident and collaborating with the authorities responsible for the investigation. The federal highway police officers involved in Genivaldo’s death were removed by the Federal Highway Police.

The demonstration took place in front of the monument and had speeches by activists, politicians and leaders of social movements and favelas, who protested against the brutality of crime and police violence against the black population.

The act also recalled the joint operation of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro and the Federal Highway Police carried out this week in Complexo da Penha, in which there were 23 deaths. The action was the second deadliest in the state’s history.

The PM stated on the day of the operation that the teams of the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) and the PRF were preparing for an incursion aimed at arresting criminal leaders, when bandits started shooting firearms in the upper part of the community. and there was confrontation.

The Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro established a Criminal Investigation Procedure (PIC) to investigate the circumstances of the deaths, which are also being investigated by the Capital Homicide Police Station (DHC).