Only 4% of those guilty of murders of environmentalists in Brazil are tried for this crime

Fernando
Fernando
2 min read

Human Rights Watch reported in the last hours that of the last 300 cases of people who have murdered environmentalists, only 14 have been prosecuted. This becomes an incentive for the logging mafias that deforest the Amazon areas, in order to obtain wood illegally, causing damage to the ecosystem.

Only 4% of those guilty of murders of environmentalists in Brazil are tried for this crime

Brazil is considered one of the most dangerous countries for environmentalists. The Brazilian justice seems to be sidestepping in these cases, especially when they involve the mafias of the tropical forests.

The hitmen against environmentalists is the most common. They look for indigenous leaders and are shot in order to drive other people from the area to prevent them from protecting the forests. Human Rights Watch and other NGOs have highlighted the work of environmentalists, but accuse Bolsonaro of not doing enough to protect his own forests.

It should be noted that Bolsonaro since his presidential campaign has attacked environmentalists, treating them as gangsters and promoters of drug trafficking. In addition, the budget used to support these environmental organizations or natural preservation programs has been drastically reduced.

At the beginning of the controversy unleashed by the burning of the Amazon, Bolsonaro affirmed that it was the fault of the NGOs, which aroused an international rejection that led him to take action two weeks after the fires began to attack the forests.

Now, Brazil is led by a president who does not support environmentalists and the Brazilian justice has been trying for a decade to prosecute 300 accused of murder, but has only managed to imprison 14 people according to Human Rights Watch, which is a figure of 1, 4 trials for each year.

Only 4% of those guilty of murders of environmentalists in Brazil are tried for this crime

Responses