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June 7, 2006 would have been Sister Dorothy Stang’s 75th birthday. This is the second birthday since she was brutally killed in Anapu. As time passes, we continue to fight for justice, following the example she set in the 39 years she lived among her beloved community of Brazilian landless farmers.

We were present when history was written on 26 April in Belém. Amair Feijoli da Cunha (“Tato”), the intermediary in Sister Dorothy’s murder, was brought to trial and received 18 years in prison for having hired the gunmen. We had previously applauded the Pará justice system for the admirable way in which the trial of the hired gunmen was handled in December 2005 and the severity of the sentences meted out. We were profoundly pleased by the April trial, feeling that it represented the dawning of a new day in Pará.

Now, however, we are alarmed at what appears to be the distinct possibility that justice will stall and impunity reign. What will define the presence or absence of impunity in this emblematic case will be whether those who ordered her murder are brought to trial promptly and due process is followed. Regivaldo Pereira Galvão, one of those who ordered the murder, currently awaits a response to his habeas corpus appeal from Minister César Peluzo of the Supremo Tribunal Federal.

If Regivaldo is granted his appeal and released, we feel he will undoubtedly leave Brazil or disappear internally and never stand trial for his role in Sister Dorothy’s assassination. There have been many examples in the past of similar situations and we fear that history will repeat itself. We are gravely concerned that if released, he will use his immense power to intimidate, physically harm, and/or murder the witnesses in the case.

Granting Regivaldo’s appeal will thwart justice and clearly demonstrate that impunity continues unabated in the Amazon. The only solution is to deny his appeal and to try him as soon as possible for his role in the assassination of Sister Dorothy. Brazil has both a moral and legal obligation to ensure that Regivaldo stands trial. There is ample evidence that Regivaldo was directly involved in planning and financing the crime, and certainly enough to keep him in custody pending trial. We heard the evidence in Tato’s testimony, in which he directly linked Regivaldo to the murder.

We call on Special Secretary for Human Rights Paulo Vannuchi and President Lula to speak out publicly on these critical issues, denouncing impunity as not in keeping with the courageous and loving Brazilian people to whom Sister Dorothy was devoted, and stating strongly the need to bring Regivaldo to trial. It was, after all, to Vannuchi’s predecessor that Sister Dorothy denounced her murderers by name 10 days before her murder. It is only fitting that the person who now holds that office pronounce himself on this issue.

Minister Peluzo’s decision represents a critical moment in the history of impunity in Brazil. The Brazilian justice system has an opportunity to demonstrate that it can and will protect human rights and honor its domestic and international legal obligations to do so. However, if he chooses to grant Regivaldo’s appeal, the “justice” system will instead become complicit in the ongoing impunity in the Amazon.

We call on Minister Peluzo to deny Regivaldo’s habeas corpus appeal. We call on the Pará justice system to try Regivaldo as soon as possible for his role in this ghastly murder.