Update: Brazilian court considering trial for police accused of killing Luana Barbosa in 2016

Luana Barbosa 2

The court heard this week from the three military police officers accused of beating to death Luana Barbosa dos Reis , 34, a non-feminine black, lesbian and marginalised woman, in front of her her 14-year-old son, and will decide in the next few days whether to take or not the defendants will go to trial.

According to witnesses and Luana herself, in a video recorded before her death, she was beaten during a police raid on the night of April 8, 2016, in the Jardim Paiva II neighbourhood, one of the outskirts of Ribeirão Preto, 312 km from the city of São Paulo, nicknamed “Brazilian California” or “national agribusiness capital”. Five days later, Luana died in the hospital. The cause of death was a cerebral ischaemia caused by traumatic brain injury.

According to witnesses, at the time of approach Luana Barbosa demanded the presence of a female police officer to conduct the search. To show that she was a woman, Luana lifted her shirt. At that moment she was punched and kicked that knocked her to the ground. This is the same version told by Luana Barbosa’s family three years ago.
(Translated)

A Justiça ouviu nesta semana os três policiais militares acusados de espancar até a morte Luana Barbosa dos Reis, 34 anos, mulher não feminilizada, negra, lésbica e periférica, diante do filho dela de 14 anos, e deve decidir nos próximos dias se leva ou não os réus a júri popular.

Segundo relatos de testemunhas e da própria Luana, num vídeo gravado antes de sua morte, a jovem foi espancada durante uma abordagem policial na noite de 8 de abril de 2016, no bairro Jardim Paiva II, uma das periferias de Ribeirão Preto, cidade a 312 km da capital paulista, apelidada de “Califórnia brasileira” ou “capital nacional do agronegócio”. Cinco dias depois, Luana morreu no hospital. A causa da morte foi uma isquemia cerebral causada por traumatismo crânio encefálico.

Segundo as testemunhas, no momento da abordagem Luana Barbosa exigiu a presença de uma policial mulher para realizar a revista. Para mostrar que era mulher, Luana levantou a camiseta. Nesse momento ela levou um soco e um chute que a derrubaram no chão. É a mesma versão contada pela família de Luana Barbosa há três anos.
(original)

Continue reading at: https://ponte.org/pms-acusados-de-matar-luana-barbosa-culpam-vitima-e-poder-dos-direitos-humanos/ (Source)

Original article: Brazil: state murder of lesbian remains unpunished 3 years later

2 responses to “Update: Brazilian court considering trial for police accused of killing Luana Barbosa in 2016

  1. Pingback: Brazil: state murder of lesbian remains unpunished 3 years later | Listening to Lesbians

  2. Pingback: 2019 in review: Lesbians in the News | Listening to Lesbians

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