Justice Minister: Federal Police investigate genocide against Yanomami
Brazil’s Minister of Justice and Public Security Flavio Dino confirmed Wednesday (Jan. 25) the opening of a Federal Police inquiry on the crime of genocide against the Yanomami indigenous people in the northern state of Roraima. During recent years the ethnic group has struggled under a health crisis, with deaths caused by malnutrition and the proliferation of diseases such as malaria.“We have a law on genocide in Brazil, which is very old, sanctioned by Juscelino Kubitschek in 1956. This law is still in force and covers various types of genocide practices, involving not just killing, but also violating physical and mental integrity, as well as actions and omissions that lead to the extermination of a given ethnic group. Based on what I saw, on what society saw, I have no doubt there was...