The capturing of Franco, an activist, raised questions on political violence and corruption inside Brazil’s authorities.
Revealed On 26 Feb 2026
A panel on Brazil’s Supreme Courtroom has dominated to convict 5 males accused of plotting the 2018 assassination of a human rights leader-turned politician Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes.
The justices on the panel have been unanimous in Wednesday’s resolution, which marked the climax of a intently watched trial that raised questions on polarisation, corruption and race in Brazilian society.
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“Human justice shouldn’t be able to soothing this ache,” Justice Carmen Lucia advised the victims’ households, because the court docket handed down decades-long sentences to the 5 defendants.
On the time of her dying, Franco, 38, was a metropolis councillor within the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, only one 12 months into her time period. She was thought-about an up-and-coming member of the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Social gathering.
A Black lady from the favelas — Brazil’s densely populated, low-income neighbourhoods — Franco was finest identified for campaigning for the rights of LGBTQ individuals, racial minorities and girls.
She had additionally used her platform to denounce extreme police violence within the favelas, in addition to illicit land appropriations on the a part of native authorities.
On March 14, 2018, after a night debate in Rio de Janeiro, a automotive pulled alongside the car carrying Franco and Gomes.
The assailant fired 13 bullets into their car. Franco and Gomes have been killed, and an aide additionally travelling within the car was injured.
Prosecutors have referred to as the assault an assassination, designed to silence Franco and forestall her from pushing again towards highly effective pursuits.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the Supreme Courtroom justices discovered that former Congress member Chiquinho Brazao and his brother Domingos Brazao – a councillor on Rio’s state audit court docket – conspired to have Franco murdered in response to her efforts to finish unlawful land grabs.
The 2 brothers had profited from efforts to assert public lands in Rio de Janeiro for personal growth. Beforehand, they have been thought-about among the many strongest politicians within the metropolis.
They have been arrested in 2024, and each have been sentenced to 76 years in jail as a part of Wednesday’s resolution.
Prolonged jail phrases have been additionally handed to a few of their co-defendants. One, Robson Calixto Fonseca, was an assistant to the Brazao brothers and was given a nine-year sentence for legal conspiracy.
The opposite two have been legislation enforcement officers. Former police investigator Rivaldo Barbosa acquired 18 years for passive corruption and obstruction of justice. Police officer Ronald Paulo Alves Pereira was given 56 years for convictions on prices of homicide and tried homicide.
All 5 males sentenced in Wednesday’s resolution have denied accountability for the crime.
Prosecutors have credited data from the 2 males who carried out the drive-by assault for revealing the involvement of their 5 alleged co-conspirators.
These suspects have been beforehand recognized as two former law enforcement officials, Ronnie Lessa and Elcio Queiroz. They have been arrested in 2019, accused of being the perpetrators of the double homicide.
The 2 males in the end signed plea offers that led to the Brazao brothers’ arrests, in keeping with prosecutors. Lessa and Queiroz have been sentenced to 78 and 59 years in jail in October 2024, respectively.
Authorities have additionally indicated that the federal government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who returned to the presidency in 2023, paved the way in which for a broader investigation to proceed.
In saying his vote on Wednesday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes described the murders as a part of a “militia modus operandi”, carried out “to protect monetary beneficial properties and to take care of political energy”.
The human rights group Amnesty Worldwide, in the meantime, referred to as this week’s hearings a “decisive take a look at” of Brazil’s “willingness to confront impunity”.
