Justice for Dorothy Stang

Last week was the 20th anniversary of the death Brazilian environmental activist Chico Mendes. One unfortunate part of his legacy was the slap on the wrist given to his convicted murderers; a trend which sadly continued with the killers of Dorothy Stang.

Stang was a U.S.-born Brazilian missionary who- much like Mendes- was outspoken in defending the Amazon rainforest. Her activism against landowners would lead to her demise in 2005. Though a Brazilian court convicted the two gunmen hired to kill Stang another tribunal freed one of them last May.

Despite the impunity, the case may be reopened against the alleged masterminded of Stang’s murder. Ironically, the arrest of Regivaldo Galvao was over the land that Stang tried to defend before her death:

Brazilian farmer Regivaldo Pereira Galvao, who was accused of masterminding the murder of U.S.-born Brazilian missionary Dorothy Stang in 2005, was re-arrested Friday for swindle.

He was arrested at his home in Altamira, Para state, for trying once more to claim possession of public land in Anapu, also in Para, according to the state's Federal Prosecutor's Office…

"Galvao's attitude of returning to the crime scene and once more declaring himself the owner of public lands demands the immediate intervention of the state," said Federal Prosecutor Alan Mansur Silva.

Image- MSNBC
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, CBS News, Xinhua, AP, Global Voices Online, BBC News