In an initiative to address the lack of judicial responses to crimes committed by public agents, the Brazilian State recognized, this Tuesday (June 30, 2026), its international responsibility for serious human rights violations in two cases being processed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Janine Mello, apologized, on behalf of the Brazilian State, to the families of Maicon de Souza Silva and Renato da Silva Paixão for the human rights violations committed during a police operation carried out in 1996 in the community of Acari, in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro. The action resulted in the death of Maicon, aged 2, and left Renato, then aged 6, seriously injured. He had one of his legs amputated.
The minister also apologized to the family of José Carlos da Silva, murdered in 2006 and victim of torture while in custody in the Rio de Janeiro prison system.
“Today we are meeting to sign two agreements to comply with recommendations signed within the scope of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. More than just legal instruments, these agreements represent the recognition, by the Brazilian State, that serious violations of human rights have produced profound consequences in the lives of people and families who have never stopped believing in Justice”said the minister.
The Attorney General of Justice, Antonio José Campos Moreira, said that the ceremony held today, at the headquarters of the Public Ministry in Rio de Janeiro, recognizes the State’s failures in investigating and punishing those responsible for these deaths.
“This commitment has a dual purpose: reparatory and preventive. The fundamental thing is to prevent similar events”, said Moreira.
According to the attorney general, Maicon’s incident record stated that the 2-year-old victim had resisted police action. Only now will the Civil Police rectify the incident record.
“Information will come out about resistance to police action and the victim of state intervention will appear, which is extremely important for the family”these.
This text was originally published by , on June 30, 2026. The content is free for republication, citing the source, and was adapted to the standard of Poder360.
