This Bisexual Black Councilwoman Who Was Murdered In Brazil Has Finally Got Justice After More Than Five Years
Marielle Franco had been an outspoken critic of police brutality and extrajudicial killings and had just spoken out against an incident of police violence on Twitter a day before she was killed.
This bisexual Black woman politician who was murdered in Brazil has finally got justice after more than five years.
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Marielle Franco, a human rights activist and councilwoman for Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, was shot and killed while she was in a car in 2018.
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Franco grew up in one of the poorest communities in Rio de Janeiro, known as a favela, and got into human rights activism after her friend was killed by a stray bullet.
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Throughout her career, she worked on improving the rights of marginalized people, such as those living in favelas, women and the LGBTQ community.
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She had also been an outspoken critic of police brutality and extrajudicial killings and had just spoken out against an incident of police violence on Twitter a day before she was killed.
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The next day, on March 14, after she attended a roundtable on empowering young Black women, Franco and her driver were murdered by two men driving in a car who fired nine shots at them.
Following her assassination, thousands of people took to the streets to demand justice for one of Brazil’s few Black, women and openly bisexual politicians.
Aerial view from the demonstration against the murder of Brazilian councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco in front of Rio's Municipal Chamber, downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)
Her murder shone a spotlight on the police violence and corruption in Brazil that Franco often spoke out against and highlighting the need for more accountability.
Protesters are carrying out an act for justice for Marielle and Anderson, marking six years since the death of the councilwoman and her driver, on the Marielle Franco staircase in Pinheiros, the west zone of Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Ronaldo Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
On Thursday, Oct. 31, a Brazilian court sentenced two men for her assassination.
Brazilian Minister of Racial Equality Anielle Franco (2nd R), sister of Marielle Franco, Antonio Francisco (2nd L), Marielle's father, Luyara Santos (C), Marielle's daughter, and Brazilian congressman Marcelo Freixo (L) react after hearing the sentence during the last day of the public trial of the murderers of Marielle and her driver, Anderson Gomes, at the Court of Justice in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)
Ronnie Lessa, who admitted to firing 14 shots that killed Franco and her driver, was sentenced to 78 years and nine months, and Élcio de Queiroz, who confessed to driving the getaway car, was handed 59 years and eight months in prison.
A makeshift memorial is pictured during a protest of Brazilian expats against the killing of Rio de Janeiro's left councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Although Franco’s murderers have been brought to justice, the three alleged masterminds of the assassination have yet to be held accountable.
Relatives of Brazilian councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco pay tribute during her funeral at Caju Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 15, 2018. Brazilians mourned for the Rio de Janeiro councilwoman and outspoken critic of police brutality who was shot in the city center in an assassination-style killing on the eve. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)
They include two politician brothers, João Francisco Brazão and Domingos Brazão, who allegedly ordered the hit, and Rivaldo Barbosa, the former police commissioner who initially led the investigation and allegedly helped plan the crime and cover-up.
A flag depicting the image of murdered council woman Marielle Franco is seen during the second night of Rio's Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)
During the trial, Lessa, who fired the shots,said the Brazão brothers, who are believed to have connections with criminal groups, saw Franco as “an obstacle” and had allegedly been disapproving of Franco’s work on land rights.
A protester shows a local newspaper during a demonstration against the murder of Brazilian councilwoman and activist Marielle Franco in front of Rio's Municipal Chamber, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)
The three alleged masterminds were arrested in March, but the court has not yet set a date for the trial.
Counselor of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Audit Domingos Brazao walks down a Federal Police aircraft upon arrival in Brasilia on March 24, 2024, after being arrested in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images)
Franco’s daughter said they would continue to fight and that there are “still many steps ahead in this case”.
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Kassy Cho
Kassy Cho
