Researchers from Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo) identified the DOI-Codi cell in São Paulo where the journalist’s suicide was staged, killed under torture by DOI-Codi agents in 1975.
According to the university, the identification of the space was possible after forensic archeology analysis that crossed photographs produced at the time, testimonies from tortured people, expert reports and original architectural plans with physical evidence still preserved in the structure of the building located on Rua Tutóia, in Vila Mariana.
“The most important thing about this discovery is that we prove that this entire process was a hoax. We still have many questions to be answered, but this discovery answers one: that this photograph was taken in this room based on a fraudulent report”, says researcher Deborah Neves, in a video published by Unifesp.
Vladimir Herzog, known as Vlado, was director of TV Cultura when he spontaneously appeared on October 25, 1975 to explain his relations with the PCB (Communist Party of Brazil), the main left-wing organization in the country at the time. He died on the same day at the scene, after intense torture sessions.
A claimed that Vlado hanged himself in his cell with a belt – although the uniforms worn by prisoners at DOI-Codi did not have belts.
The photo released, created by the regime, showed the journalist on his knees bent, with his body hanging at a distance shorter than his height. In preparation for the burial, marks of torture were found.
The suicide version was soon challenged, mobilizing protests, student strikes and public questions at the time, including one that openly challenged the dictatorship.
Vlado’s widow, publicist Clarice Herzog filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of São Paulo, in April 1976, asking that the State be held responsible for the arrest, torture and death of her husband. In October 1978, judge Márcio José de Moraes condemned the Union for the crime.
Those directly responsible, however, were never tried and the legal proceedings over the case were overturned based on the 1979 Amnesty Law, which granted pardons to soldiers who committed crimes during the dictatorship.
The research that identified the cell is part of the project, which seeks to document and make accessible historical evidence related to the functioning of the political repression center that operated between 1969 and 1983.
Excavations have already found writing on the wall, biological material that could be blood and other traces. One of the researchers’ expectations is that the material found can strengthen the request in favor of transforming the site into a memorial.
Currently, one of the four buildings that make up the complex serves as the address for the 36th Police District of São Paulo.
