Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor by Tiago Rogero for Guardain News   25 Feb. 2026   Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor, by Tiago Rogero for Guardain News.   Two influential Brazilian politician brothers have been convicted by Brazil’s supreme court of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, nearly eight years ago.   Joao Francisco Inácio Brazao, the former congressman known as Chiquinho, and the former adviser to Rio’s court of auditors Domingos Inácio Brazão were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison for the murders of Franco, 38, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, 39.   The crime was one of the most shocking and high-profile murders in Rio’s history and drew international attention: Franco, a gay Black woman, was a rising political star and an outspoken critic of police violence and corruption.   The justices’ decision was unanimous, and the Brazão brothers were also convicted of the attempted murder of Fernanda Chaves, Franco’s press officer at the time, who was in the car and survived.   The case is also widely seen by security experts and human rights activists as a chilling example of how the ties between politics, crime and the police are deeply entrenched in Rio, reaching even the highest levels of public administration.   Franco’s sister, Anielle Franco, wrote on social media: “It was eight years of struggle to find out who ordered Marielle’s killing and why. It was eight years fighting for full justic   “Today Brazil’s justice system honoured the memory of Marielle and Anderson. Brazil begins a new historic chapter in confronting political violence based on gender and race. Impunity cannot be part of our democracy,” added Anielle, who is minister for racial equality in the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.   Announcing her vote, Justice Carmen Lucia said the proceedings had been “very painful” for her.   “Human justice is not capable of soothing this pain. This trial is merely a timid, almost embarrassed testimony on my part of the response the law can offer in the face of the searing, atrocious pain borne on the faces of the mother, the daughter, the son, the widows,” added Lucia, referring to the relatives of Franco and Gomes, who were present in the courtroom.   The long journey of almost a decade to secure the convictions was marked by a tortuous series of twists that included the destruction of evidence, frequent changes in lead investigators and even the revelation that the then head of the homicide division, Rivaldo Barbosa, actively worked to obstruct the investigation.   Barbosa was not convicted of murder on Wednesday, as the justices found there was insufficient evidence that he had taken part in the killings, but he was found guilty on the lesser charges of obstruction of justice and corruption for having received bribes from the Brazao brothers.   The case was tried by the supreme court because Chiquinho was a congressman when his involvement was uncovered. The convictions came more than a year after two former police officers who carried out the killings were sentenced by a court in Rio.   Ronnie Lessa, who fired the shots in the drive-by shooting, and Élcio de Queiroz, who drove the getaway car, were sentenced in October 2024 to decades in prison, but their sentences were reduced to a maximum of 30 years after they confessed and cooperated with investigators.   Lessa, regarded as one of Rio’s most ruthless hitmen, said he had been hired by the Brazão brothers – long accused of involvement with paramilitary mafia groups known as militias – to kill Franco after becoming frustrated by her efforts to disrupt lucrative housing development schemes.   “Marielle Franco became a highly significant obstacle to the economic and political interests of those who ordered the crime,” said the rapporteur, Justice Alexandre de Moraes.   One of the most profitable activities of the militia led by the Brazao brothers was the illegal occupation of land – much of it in environmentally protected areas – followed by property development and the provision of services such as electricity and internet.   Franco, who at the time served alongside Chiquinho on Rio’s city council, was a vocal advocate for housing rights and frequently warned residents not to join new illegal projects created by the militia.   “Marielle Franco was a Black, poor woman who was confronting the interests of militiamen,” said Moraes. “What stronger message could they send? In the misogynistic, prejudiced minds of those who ordered and carried out the killing, who would care about this (her murder)?”   The Brazao brothers’ lawyers focused their defence on attempting to discredit Lessa’s confession, arguing that there was no other evidence of their involvement in the crimes. However, all the justices agreed that, beyond the testimony, there was “abundant evidence” to support their convictions.   Two former police officers were also convicted: Ronald Paulo de Alves Pereira, for monitoring Franco’s routine in the days leading up to the crime; and Robson Calixto Fonseca, known as The Fish, who will answer only for armed criminal organisation for having delivered the murder weapon to Lessa.   Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, said the convictions were “a fundamental milestone, a chance to turn the page in the history of Rio and Brazil”.   “First, because it affirms the need to protect human rights defenders. Fighting for rights cannot cost lives … Second, this decision also marks a turning point in the fight against impunity, so that crimes like this are not repeated,” she said.   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/25/brazil-politician-brothers-convicted-murder http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/justice-brazilian-human-defender-killing http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/drc-un-experts-warn-extreme-m23-violence-targeting-human-rights-defenders
	South Sudan army threat to 'spare no-one' condemned by UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan   26 Jan. 2026   South Sudan army threat to 'spare no-one' condemned. (BBC News)   The United Nations says it is gravely concerned after a senior military leader in South Sudan urged his troops to "spare no-one" including "children, the elderly, and civilians" when they are deployed to opposition-held areas of the country.   "Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now," said the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (Unmiss).   South Sudan's deputy army chief Gen Johnson Oluny made the call as he addressed his Agwelek militia as they prepared to be sent to parts of Jonglei state.   Forces aligned to South Sudan's suspended Vice-President Riek Machar have captured several areas in recent weeks..   The military has ordered all civilians and personnel from the UN mission and all other aid agencies to evacuate three counties in Jonglei state ahead of an imminent operation against opposition forces.   Last week, the chief of the defence force ordered troops deployed in the region to 'crush the rebellion' within seven days.   Oluny can be heard addressing his troops in a video posted on Facebook saying: "spare no-one - the elderly, children, birds or leave no house standing".   The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (UNCHRSS) expressed "grave alarm" at the latest fighting in Jonglei state, north of the capital Juba, where witnesses have described civilians fleeing into swamps.   The UN says more than 180,000 people are believed to have been forced to flee their homes by escalating fighting.   'No senior political or military leader in Juba can claim to be unaware of the blatant public incitements to commit serious crimes in Jonglei,' the UNCHRSS said in a statement issued on Sunday night in Geneva.   "Language that calls for the killing of those who are hors de combat [no longer participating in hostilities] and civilians, including the elderly—with assertions that 'no one should be spared'—is not only shocking, it is profoundly dangerous," said UNCHRSS head Yasmin Sooka.   The military said all civilians living in Nyirol, Uror and Akobo counties in Jonglei were "directed to immediately evacuate for safety to government-controlled areas as soon as possible.."   26 Jan. 2026   South Sudan: UN Commission warns incitement and command failures risk mass atrocities, ethnic mobilisation and further unravelling of peace agreement. (OHCHR)   The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan today expressed grave alarm at recent inflammatory rhetoric by senior military figures and reports of force mobilisation in Jonglei State, warning that such developments significantly heighten the risk of mass violence against civilians and further erode the peace agreement.   The Commission said that public statements by commanders and others exercising effective command and control when – combined with active troop mobilisation – represent a dangerous escalation at a moment when the political foundations of the peace process are already severely weakened.   Under international law, military and civilian leaders who incite crimes or who exercise effective control over forces may be held criminally responsible. Those who fail to prevent or punish crimes they knew about, or should have known were being committed, are equally criminally liable. No senior political or military leader in Juba can claim to be unaware of the blatant public incitements to commit serious crimes in Jonglei.   “Language that calls for the killing of those who are hors de combat (no longer participating in hostilities) and civilians, including the elderly – with assertions that ‘no one should be spared’ – is not only shocking, it is profoundly dangerous,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.   “In South Sudan’s past, such rhetoric has preceded mass atrocities. When such language is issued or tolerated by those in positions of command, it signals permission to commit violence and removes any expectation of restraint,” Sooka said. “At a time when civilians are already displaced, traumatised and exposed, this kind of incitement places entire communities at grave risk.”   The Commission stressed that the current escalation is not an isolated incident, but part of a wider political breakdown driven by sustained violations of the peace agreement, and the erosion of command discipline in an already volatile and ethnically fractured environment.   “This is a moment of acute risk and political responsibility,” said Commissioner Barney Afako. “Words uttered by commanders shape troop behaviour on the ground. When senior figures issue reckless or violent rhetoric, or fail to counter it decisively, they lower the threshold for abuses and send a signal that restraint no longer applies. The mobilisation of forces in this context, coupled with ethnicised messaging, risks triggering a spiral of retaliatory violence that could rapidly escalate beyond control.”   “Unless there is immediate intervention at the highest level to rein in forces, de-escalate, and recommit to consensus politics, South Sudan risks sliding rapidly into another phase of widespread violence,” Afako said. “Beyond national intervention, these developments now demand urgent high-level regional engagement to facilitate the restoration of South Sudan’s transition. We are fast running out of time.”   The Commission underscored that under international humanitarian and criminal law, military and civilian superiors bear responsibility not only for crimes they commit or order, but also for crimes they incite, or fail to prevent, repress, investigate or punish, when they knew or should have known that such crimes were being committed or were about to be committed.   “The peace agreement was designed precisely to prevent this kind of descent into violence,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández. “Public orders or statements that encourage attacks on civilians – including rhetoric that frames entire communities as legitimate targets – may give rise to individual criminal responsibility under international law.”   “Command responsibility is attached to those who exercise effective control, regardless of whether orders are formal or conveyed through public statements, threats, or deliberate tolerance of incitement,” Fernández said. “Those who incite, order or fail to prevent such acts can be held accountable.”   The Commission called for all parties to immediately cease inflammatory rhetoric and force mobilisation to de-escalate tensions and further emphasized that President Salva Kiir, as Commander-in-Chief, bears a heightened duty to exercise effective control over forces operating in his name, to prevent armed actors from committing attacks on civilian populations in his name, and to ensure that ethnic mobilisation and calls for exterminatory violence are immediately and publicly repudiated.   Similarly, the Chief of Defence Forces of South Sudan, the Minister of Defence and others in positions of operational oversight of military actions in Jonglei and elsewhere also share in this duty.   “Failure to act decisively to halt incitement, rein in commanders, and restore command discipline, may engage responsibility at the highest levels of leadership.   The Commission called on regional and international partners to urgently re-engage to preserve the peace agreement and press South Sudan’s leaders to return to the political path they committed to, warning that failure to do so risks an all-out ethnic conflict and another preventable tragedy.   “This crisis is not inevitable,” Sooka said. “Leadership, restraint and accountability can still avert catastrophe. But deliberate incitement and the abuse of command authority will have consequences, and the window to act is closing fast.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/01/south-sudan-un-commission-warns-incitement-and-command-failures-risk-mass http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/archives/detail/south-sudan-conflict-and-displacement-in-jonglei http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166865 http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/01/1166831 http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-suspends-activities-baliet-county-and-urgently-calls-protection-humanitarian-space-south http://www.savethechildren.net/news/south-sudan-save-children-office-and-healthcare-centre-destroyed-and-looted-violence-escalates http://www.globaldispatches.org/p/civil-war-has-returned-to-south-sudan http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79rjjr481zo   30 Jan. 2026   WFP calls for safe humanitarian access as conflict escalates in South Sudan's Jonglei State   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is today calling on all parties to the conflict to urgently halt military operations, de-escalate the situation, and allow safe humanitarian access to deliver life-saving food assistance to hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan’s Jonglei State.   The risk of escalating conflict in Jonglei means many of the two million people living there will be forced to flee in search of safety and food. Nearly 60 percent of the population is already expected to face crisis levels of hunger during the upcoming lean season – when hunger is at its worst.   “This military escalation could not have come at a worse time,” said Adham Effendi, WFP’s acting Country Director in South Sudan. “Our window to reach the most vulnerable is quickly closing. The time to act is now and we urge all parties to protect civilians, aid workers and allow the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance.   Beginning in February, pre-positioning life-saving food assistance and relief supplies closer to hunger hotspots is crucial before the lean season – which spans from April to July - when heavy rains also cut off key overland routes to reach vulnerable women, men, and children..   http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-calls-safe-humanitarian-access-conflict-escalates-south-sudans-jonglei-state http://www.msf.org/south-sudan-government-blocks-opposition-held-areas-humanitarian-access http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/lives-malnourished-children-risk-upsurge-violence-south-sudan http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/violence-no-child-can-outrun-south-sudans-escalating-crisis http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-139/en/ Visit the related web page
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