Indigenous lawyers have filed genocide charges against Brazil s President Jair Bolsonaro before the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, it was announced Monday.
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Indigenous Leader Kretan Kaingang of the Kaingang tribe kicks a tear gas canister fired by police forces during a protest for land demarcation and against President Jair Bolsonaro s government, in front of National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil June 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
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BRASILIA, June 22 (Reuters) - Riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a group of indigenous people protesting on Tuesday outside Brazil s Congress against a bill lawmakers were about to debate that would undermine recognition of protected reservation lands.
The protesters, among them children and elderly people, ran for cover, many coughing their way through clouds of gas.
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First Posted: May 14, 2021 12:22 AM EDT
Photo : Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Authorities in Brazil are allegedly targeting indigenous leaders after police initially launched a probe on two prominent critics of President Jair Bolsonaro s government, according to human rights activists in the country.
The Guardian reported that Sônia Guajajara, the head of Brazil s largest indigenous organization, the Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB), and Almir Suruí, had been put under investigation last month.
The indigenous leaders had launched a social media campaign, raising awareness of the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic to Brazil s indigenous communities.
But the cases against the two indigenous leaders were dropped after federal judges ruled that there were no grounds for investigations. The judges dubbed the situation as an illegal embarrassment.
But both leaders were accused of spreading “fake news” by Funai, the government agency which is officially responsible for protecting indigenous interests. In a statement, Funai said it would not comment on the investigation.
“It is scary to receive a subpoena from the police for a complaint made by Funai itself. This is unprecedented. It is Bolsonaro’s new Funai, which has completely reversed its role of protecting indigenous peoples,” Guajajara added.
Apib lodged complaints this week with the supreme court and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, over what it described as the Bolsonaro government’s “persecution” of indigenous people.