Three former members of Brazil’s Federal Highway Police have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the torture and death of a Black man held in the boot of their squad car.
On Saturday, Justice Rafael Soares, a judge for the 7th Federal Court in the Brazilian state of Sergipe, gave one of the officers, Paulo Rodolpho Nascimento, 28 years in prison for the crime of aggravated homicide.
Two of his colleagues, William Noia and Kleber Freitas, each received 23 years in prison for torture resulting in death.
The sentencing was the culmination of a case that began in May 2022, with the arrest of 38-year-old Genivaldo de Jesus Santos.
The three officers pulled Santos over for riding his motorcycle without a helmet, not far from the town of Umbauba in Sergipe.
A bystander took a video of the encounter that later went viral. Santos appeared to offer no resistance as the three police officers pulled him to the ground and restrained his arms and legs.
The officers, however, had described Santos as “actively resisting”.
Local media reported that Santos suffered from schizophrenia and was heard yelling to explain that he was taking medication. But the officers lifted Santos into the boot of their sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The video captured the officers as they lowered the boot’s door and held it shut while clouds of dense, white smoke poured from the car. Santos screamed, and his legs could be seen kicking. A witness cried, ”They are going to kill him!”
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate