Brazil court says amnesty law doesn’t cover ex-soldier
Posted Aug 14, 2019 6:09 pm.
RIO DE JANEIRO — For the first time in Brazil, a federal appeals court has ruled that torture committed during the country’s military dictatorship does not fall under an amnesty law.
Lawyers said Wednesday’s decision reverses a previous ruling based on Brazil’s amnesty law, but could be overruled in the supreme court.
A court of appeals ruled that ex-army Sgt. Antônio Waneir Pinheiro de Lima can be prosecuted on charges of kidnapping and raping a woman during the dictatorship.
De Lima is accused of torturing Ines Etienne Romeu at the regime’s “House of Death” in Rio de Janeiro state. The building was used clandestinely to hide, torture and usually kill opponents of the 1964-85 military regime.
At least 18 people were killed there, Romeu being the sole survivor.
The Associated Press
