Brazils Supreme Court Convicts Five in Marielle Franco Murder

Brazil's Supreme Court has convicted five men, including two former politicians, in the 2018 assassination of Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, marking a major step toward accountability in a case that exposed links between lawmakers and organized crime.

The unanimous ruling by a four-justice panel on Wednesday concluded an eight-year investigation into the drive-by shooting that killed Franco, a 38-year-old Black and bisexual activist known for advocating the rights of LGBTQ+ people, racial minorities, women and residents of low-income favelas. The attack occurred on March 14, 2018, after Franco left an event focused on empowering Black women. A gunman fired 13 bullets into their vehicle in central Rio de Janeiro, also injuring an aide. Prosecutors described the killings as a targeted assassination to silence Franco's criticism of police violence, corruption and illegal land seizures.

The court found that former congressman Chiquinho Brazao and his brother Domingos Brazao, a former state lawmaker and member of Rio's state audit court, ordered the murders to protect their financial interests in militia-controlled land grabs. The...