Hacen justicia en Brasil a monja asesinada

Stang murió por causa de disparos realizados a corta distancia.

Brazilian guilty of murdering American nun

A Brazilian landowner has been found guilty of organising the killing of the American nun Dorothy Stang in Brazil in 2005. The 73-year-old missionary had been working in the state of Para when she was shot dead as she walked along a path. This report from Gary Duffy:

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The murder of Dorothy Stang caused an international outcry and the conviction of one of the men accused of ordering her killing will be welcomed by human rights groups in Brazil. Vitalmiro Bastos Moura had always denied being one of the organisers of the attack.

The man convicted in 2005 of actually shooting the American-born missionary gave evidence in court in support of that denial. But after a two-day hearing, Moura was found guilty and now faces thirty years in jail. The judge said Moura showed a violent personality, unsuited to living in society and that the killing was carried out in a violent and cowardly manner.

Dorothy Stang spent over twenty years of her life working for the rights of poor settlers, struggling against large landowners in the state of Para in the north of Brazil. She refused to leave, even after her name appeared on a death list.

In the last thirty years, more than a thousand rural workers and activists have been killed in land disputes in Brazil, seven hundred and seventy-two of those in Para. The convictions of those accused of ordering killings are rare. Outside the court, Dorothy Stang's brother welcomed the verdict and said he thought justice had been done. Another landowner accused of ordering the killing will go on trial later this year.

Gary Duffy, BBC News, Sao Paulo

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VOCABULARY

an international outcry
el asesinato originó una protesta global

conviction
condena

human rights
derechos humanos

denied
negó

missionary
misionero/ a

unsuited to
incapacitado (para vivir en sociedad)

a death list
lista negra o lista de personas marcadas para morir

activists
activista

welcomed the verdict
recibió el veredicto con alegría, o quedó contento con el veredicto

justice had been done
se hizo justicia

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