In a trial in the city of Belém that lasted ten hours, Jerônimo Alves Amorim, the rancher from Goiâs charged with ordering the assassination in February 1991 of Expedito Ribeiro de Souza, president of the Union of Rural Workers of Rio Maria, was convicted and sentenced to nineteen years and seven months of prison. This decision is unprecedented, since it marks the first time in thirty years that a rancher has been tried and found guilty of crimes committed in relation to the land struggle in the south of the Amazonian state of Pará.

This is a victory for the defenders of human rights and for Brazilian society as a whole because it represents the first step in the attempt to put an end to the impunity that has characterized the crimes committed by large landowners. It was also a personal victory for Father Henri des Roziers, a lawyer for the Pastoral Land Commission, who testified for the prosecution and who for the past nine years has been working for justice, not only in the case of the murder of Expedito, but also in other cases of rural workers assassinated in the South of Pará, such as João Canuto.

The evidence presented by the prosecuting attorney, Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh, was irrefutable. The hired gunman, José Serafim Sales, as well as the manager of Amorim's ranch, Francisco de Assis Ferreira, had both told the police shortly after the crime that the rancher had been the one who ordered the assassination. Both were sentenced in 1995, but Sales escaped. The defense lawyer, Américo Leal -- the same one who defended the military police accused in the massacre at Eldorado dos Carajás -- tried to disqualify the witnesses, alleging that Sales and Ferreira had been tortured. At the beginning of the trial the defense lawyer tried to present a deposition of a gunman named José Ribamar, who claimed to have killed Expedito. However, Judge Edinéia Tavares determined the deposition to be false and removed it from the evidence. Américo Leal claimed that this judgement was ideological.

These allegations did not convince the members of the jury, who were unanimous on the guilty verdict. On two other questions the vote was six to one. The unanimity of the guilty verdict impedes the possibility of an appeal. However, the lawyer for the defense will now try to reduce the sentence. Yesterday Jerônimo Alves Amorim was taken to the penitentiary where he will serve the sentence. He had already been in prison since last November, when he was captured by Interpol in Cancun, Mexico, where he had fled.

For Father Henri des Roziers and Bishop Tomás Balduíno, President of the Pastoral Land Commission, this is a historical moment that will strengthen the struggle to put an end to the impunity of the rural oligarchy. According to data from the Pastoral Land Commission, 700 rural workers were assassinated in the state of Pará, but this is the first time that a rancher who ordered a death has been sentenced. This gives hope that justice will prevail in other notorious cases of impunity, such as the assassination of João Canuto and the massacre of Eldorado dos Carajás.

The Pastoral Land Commission would like to thank all partner organizations and defenders of human rights in Brazil and all over the world, whose strong commitment has made the result of this trial a victory for all defenders of life. The struggle may be a long one, but yesterday an important battle was won.