Brazil: Police massacre in Rio de Janeiro is evidence yet again of systemic and racist violence

Amnesty International urges a prompt, independent, impartial and internationally supervised investigation into the deadliest police operation in the state’s history.

Amnesty International strongly condemns the massacre that occurred during “Operation Containment” carried out on 28 October in the Alemão and Penha favelas in Rio de Janeiro – the deadliest in the state’s history – which left at least 121 people dead, including four police officers, and multiple reports of extrajudicial executions by civilian and military police.

“What took place in Rio de Janeiro was not a security operation, it was a massacre. Over a hundred people, most of them black and living in poverty, were killed in an operation planned and carried out by the state itself. The authorities must urgently conduct a prompt, independent and impartial investigation, and request international oversight to ensure its effectiveness,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The government of Cláudio Castro in Rio de Janeiro has turned its security policy into a policy of death. This must cease immediately,” she added.