Minister: probe into Rio councilor killed near its end

Minister Raul Jungmann, head of Brazil’s Extraordinary Public Security Ministry, said Wednesday (May 10) that the investigation into the killing of Rio de Janeiro city councilor Marielle Franco, which took place on March 14 this year, “is coming near its final stage.” “I believe results are coming soon,” he said.

When asked about the involvement of Marcello Siciliano, another city councilor, as well as that of former Military Police agent Orlando Oliveira de Araújo in Franco’s murder, after the testimony was revealed of a witness who said the two met to plot her death, the minister noted he had already mentioned that evidence pointed to the work of militias (groups usually made up by former police and military men). Franco was widely known for denouncing police violence in favelas in Rio de Janeiro.

“I’m not saying it’s them specifically. Now, there are two issues I should pay attention to: one is journalism, and the information coming from it, which, of course, should be scrutinized. The other is the investigation itself—a matter we cannot make remarks about, for obvious reasons. What I can say is that these ones and everyone else will be brought under investigation,” he declared.

Yesterday (9), city councilor Marcello Siciliano denied having participated in the killing of Marielle Franco and her driver Anderson Gomes.