International pressure on Rio de Janeiro for the bloody operation in a favela

RIO DE JANEIRO.- The UN human rights office was “shocked” and called for an independent investigation on Friday. about the police operation against drug traffickers in a favela in Rio de Janeiro which left 25 people dead. Thursday’s operation, which involved helicopters, he could have been the deadliest in a decade, in a long history of “disproportionate and unnecessary” use of the police forcesaid spokesman for the UN human rights office in Geneva, Rupert Colville.

“We ask a prosecutor to conduct a full independent investigation into the case, in accordance with international standards”Colville argued. Force should only be used as a last resort and the police failed to take the necessary steps to keep evidence at the crime scene, he said.

“This reinforces the tendency for the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by the police in poor, marginalized and predominantly Afro-Brazilian neighborhoods,” Colville said, referring to some. favelas which have traditionally been the scene of abuse by the security forces. In the case of the events in Jacarezinho, the office headed by former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet also reported “worrying” information received after the operation that “the police have not taken measures to retain the evidence at the scene of the crime ”which could jeopardize the investigations.

The Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office has already announced that it will investigate police abuse and the UN hopes there will be an “independent, full and partial investigation.” According to Colville, this also means ensuring the safety of witnesses, protecting them from any kind of intimidation or retaliation. “We also call for a broad and inclusive debate on the current police model in the favelas, which are trapped in a vicious circle of deadly violence,” added Colville, who recalled the precarious situation of the inhabitants of these neighborhoods, “marginalized” .

Reuters and DPA agencies

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