The Rio de Janeiro Court has condemned two Chilean fans for racist acts committed during Libertadores and South American Cup matches this year against Rio clubs. The decision is first instance, and it is appealed.
Baltazar Martín López and Gianny Antonio Gonzalez de la Vega Galvez responded for racist gestures held, respectively, at the Games between Fluminense and Unión Española, in Maracanã, and between Botafogo and Universidad de Chile, in Engenhão.
The defense of the Chileans was not found.
The convictions were obtained by the Specialized Sports Action Group and defense of the Rio Public Prosecutor. The Special Court of the fan and the major events determined for both the penalty of two years in prison, replaced by payment of cash amounts.
The two are also prohibited for three years from attending places intended for sporting, artistic or cultural events open to the public.
In the decision, the judiciary says that racism is an imprescriptible crime and that the practice attentive against human dignity. “The provocation made by opposing fans cannot be used as a justification for the commission of such gravity, such as racism,” the decision says.
The case of Baltazar Martín López had great repercussion at the time. On May 14, during the match between Fluminense and Unión Española, he was arrested in the act after making gestures imitating a monkey towards Brazilian fans. According to the prosecutor, the action was perceived by private security guards, who called the Military Police. The arrest was later converted into preventive (no deadline).
The detention was the first recorded after the launch of the Campaign We were Vigilantes, from the Fluminense prosecutor, created to reinforce the fight against racism during matches of the South American Cup and Libertadores in Rio de Janeiro. The initiative is supported by the Digital Evidence and Technology Division of the Prosecution, CBF and Conmebol.
The performance includes technical visits to stadiums, image capture and sounds in real time and monitoring of internal security circuits to identify and punish any authors of racist manifestations.
With the resumption of South American competitions next week, the prosecutor promises to intensify the presence of its teams in the stadiums.
The agency directs that acts of discrimination be immediately reported to military police, stadium security guards or the prosecutor on duty. It is also possible to send images and information to the Rio Public Prosecution Ombudsman, by calling 127.
