Borel massacre - April 16th, 2003

The Borel massacre took place on April 16, 2003, when Carlos Alberto da Silva Ferreira, Carlos Magno de Oliveira Nascimento, Everson Gonçalves Silote and Thiago da Costa Correia da Silva were executed at point-blank range by officers from the 6th Military Police Battalion in the Borel favela, in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. The case sparked huge popular revolt in the area, as it was an ambush at the entrance to the area known as Vila da Preguiça. The police registered the deaths as “acts of resistance”, but later the Federal Police's forensics concluded that there was no confrontation at the scene, as residents had already reported. The episode sparked an extensive struggle for justice by the mothers and relatives of the victims, which led to the creation of the “Network of Communities and Movements against Violence”.

Authors: Marielle Franco's Dictionary of Favelas team

This work is a partnership between the GENI/UFF, RADAR SAÚDE FAVELA and CASA (IESP-UERJ) groups and the Marielle Franco Favela Dictionary.

Introduction

On April 16, 2003, four young men were executed at point-blank range by officers from the 6th Military Police Battalion in the Borel favela, in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro. The police claimed self-defense and the case was initially registered as a “crime of resistance”. Witnesses, relatives of the victims and forensic evidence indicated that these were extrajudicial executions. The investigations concluded that the four young men had been executed, that the police officers had not acted in self-defense and identified the officers responsible. However, fifteen years later, no one has been held responsible. The Borel massacre gained international repercussions. [1]

In 2003, the UN Special Rapporteur on Summary, Arbitrary and Extrajudicial Executions, Asma Jahangir, visited the favela to listen to the relatives of the victims and included the case in her report on her mission to Brazil. In 2003, Amnesty International's Secretary General, Irene Khan, also visited Borel to talk to the victims' relatives.

Victims of the massacre

1. Carlos Alberto da Silva Ferreira, 21, painter and bricklayer;
2. Carlos Magno de Oliveira Nascimento, 18, student;
3. Everson Gonçalves Silote, 26, taxi driver;
4. Thiago da Costa Correia da Silva, 19, mechanic.

Investigations

The investigations dragged on for many years and it was only in 2018 that the jury decided by 4 votes to 3 that the police officers' crime should be classified as culpable - without the intention to kill. For the jury, Sergeant Washington Luiz de Oliveira Avelino, Corporal Marcos Duarte Ramalho and Private Paulo Marco Rodrigues Emilio committed homicide as a result of police intervention. They were therefore acquitted of the charge of a heinous crime by 4 votes to 3. Throughout the investigation, testimony changed several times, and family members pointed out errors in the conduct of the case.

About the Borel Massacre

Authors: Network of Communities and Movements against Violence.

In the late afternoon of April 16, 2003, Carlos Alberto da Silva Ferreira, a painter and bricklayer; Carlos Magno de Oliveira Nascimento, a student; Everson Gonçalves Silote, a taxi driver; and Thiago da Costa Correia da Silva, a mechanic, were murdered during a police operation by the 6th Military Police Battalion in the Borel slum, in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Prevented from identifying themselves, they were shot in the head, chest, arm and forearm. The cadaveric report attested to the “high kinetic energy” of the projectiles, which shows that some of the shots were fired at “close range”. That afternoon, Thiago went to meet Magno, his childhood friend, at the barbershop on Estrada da Independência, one of the main roads on the hill, where you can get around by car. When Magno and Thiago left the barbershop, they heard shots and ran. Carlos Alberto, or “Carlinhos”, another resident of the community, who had just arrived at the barbershop, also ran. The three boys crossed the road and entered a village just opposite, Vila da Preguiça. As they entered the village, they were shot. Magno, who was only 18, died on the spot. He was shot six times, three times in the back and three times in the front. Thiago, who was 19, still lay on the ground begging for help and saying he was a worker. He died after being shot five times, four times in the front and once in the back. Carlinhos was 21. He was shot twelve times, seven of them in the back, as well as fracturing his forearm and femur. Five of the shots hit the inside of his right forearm and his right and left hands - showing that he was trying to defend himself against the shots fired at him. Another fatal victim of the operation was Everson Silote. The taxi driver was returning home on foot when he was seized by military police on Estrada da Independência. As he was carrying an envelope with all his documents, he tried to identify himself and, for this reason, had his right arm broken by a blow from the police officer. Claiming to be a worker, he insisted on showing his documents, but was executed before he could present them. Everson was 26 years old. He was shot four times in the front and once in the back.

No resident was able to get close to the victims, not even their relatives, because the police prevented them saying: “Do you want to see? Then go to Andaraí” (referring to the hospital). The police registered the deaths as “acts of resistance”. However, the investigations into the case, which included forensic examinations carried out by the Federal Police (May/2003) and the Carlos Éboli Criminalistics Institute (June/2003), accompanied by the Corregidor General of the Unified Police of Rio de Janeiro, concluded that the four boys had been killed in an ambush.

The indignation united the entire favela with the victims' families. The collective of mothers got together and decided to create the “Movimento Posso me identificar?” (Can I identify myself? Movement), which in the following year would lead to the creation of the “Rede de Comunidades e Movimentos contra Violência” (Network of Communities and Movements against Violence). After several mobilizations, five of the sixteen police officers involved in the massacre were indicted for aggravated homicide. The trials of the indicted police officers began in 2004. Many appeals were used by the police officers' defense to postpone hearings, twist information from the jury and even annul the only trial in which one of those responsible for the massacre had been convicted. In April 2014, the judges of the Fifth Criminal Chamber unanimously ordered a retrial of the case - the document, signed by judge Sergio Verani, explains that “the circumstances of the police action demonstrate the procedural and democratic need for the jury to make a new assessment”. Even so, family members and supporters of the struggle are still waiting for justice to be done for those killed in this massacre.

References

1. https://anistia.org.br/noticias/chacina-borel-15-anos-depois-ninguem-foi-responsabilizado/
2. STABILE, A. New popular jury acquits MPs accused of the Borel massacre in Rio. Available at: <https://ponte.org/novo-juri-popular-absolve-pm-acusados-pela-chacina-do-borel-no-rio/>. Accessed on: July 19, 2023

See Also

Carandiru Prison Massacre

Urbanismo Miliciano in Rio de Janeiro

Violence and health