Group Action Jul 2016 - Father seeking justice for his sons in Brazil

Jorge Lázaro, 50 years old, had two of his seven children murdered and has been fighting for justice since. Ricardo Mattos dos Santos, his son, was a talented circus acrobat who was working in a well-known circus company in Brazil. He was spending his vacation with his family in Boca do Rio, a poor neighbourhood in Salvador, and went out to play football with friends on 22 January 2008. He was in a field with the other young men when a car came past with four men in it. Three of the men started shooting at the young men playing football. The fourth man stayed in the car. They were looking for young men who were suspected of stealing a bike from the son of a retired military police officer. Ricardo and another young man, Robson de Souza Pinho, were killed. Ricardo was hit by 5 shots while he begged for his life and said that he was not one of the people the attackers were looking for. After an investigation, in March 2011 the public prosecutors charged three military police officers with the crime. But three years after they were charged and six years after the extrajudicial execution took place, the case still has not gone to trial, and no one has been brought to justice.

Our group action gives more information on the case and details of those we would like people to write to.