Widows of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes talk about the arrest of those accused of committing murder | Rio de Janeiro

Rio – Mônica Benício and Ágahta Arnaus, widows of Marielle Franco and Anderson Gomes, respectively, were at the headquarters of the Federal Police Superintendence, in the center of Rio, this Sunday morning (24). On their way out, the two spoke to the press and spoke about the arrest of those accused of ordering the murder of the councilor and the driver, in March 2018.

“It was six years and ten days of waiting. If on the one hand the name of the Brazão family doesn’t surprise us that much, the name of Rivaldo Barbosa was undoubtedly a great surprise for us. Especially, considering that he was the first authority that He received the family the following day, saying that it would be a priority for the Civil Police to solve this case”, began Mônica.

“And today knowing that a man who hugged us, showed solidarity and smiled saying that this case would be a priority, is involved in this order, helps us understand that the Civil Police were not just negligent, it was not just because of a mistake that we arrived to six years of pain, but especially for having connived at all this time of not clarifying the case. In fits and starts, it was six years and ten days of a lot of pain, but looking for strength to find and continue standing in the fight for justice. Without a doubt, today is an important step for democracy and for all of Brazil. But there is also, somewhere, the beginning of a new fight that we want everyone to be held responsible for. That everyone is identified and that the can we have justice for Marielle and Anderson”, he continued.

“Now we have another development in this fight for justice. And what we want is not only for the masterminds to be identified, but all the people who had some type of involvement, whether in obstructing the case as a whole, or in the orders execution. That all people who had any type of relationship, any type of involvement with the murder of Marielle and Anderson, be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for what they did”, he stated.

“There is no doubt that there were interferences. And they were not due to incompetence, they were due to complicity, so that this case did not reach a solution as quickly as possible. I confess that I have been waiting for this answer for six years and ten days. I did not arrive thinking about what that moment would be like. It’s important, but it still doesn’t bring any kind of peace”, revealed Mônica.

Very emotional, Ágatha Arnaus couldn’t hold back her tears when talking about the arrest of the accused and, like Mônica, she was surprised by the name of Rivaldo Barbosa. “Seeing the people who participated hugged us, kissed us and promised, even said that they were friends with Marielle, who had worked together, is a slap in the face. It’s trampling even more. You know that you’re involved and look at the our eye and make promises. It’s so deep and so painful,” he said.

“Let’s see how things will unfold. There are still a lack of answers. There are a lot of people missing. It wasn’t just the three of them. Not even the two of them who are in prison. There are more people who collaborated, who contributed in some way. There’s a lot missing. so we can have peace”, said Ágatha. “It’s a mix and it’s even difficult to explain what I feel. There’s a feeling of being on the way, of relief, but there’s still a weight, a pain that will never go away. It’s still desperate, even with some answers, there’s still so much missing and it seems like it’s so close and so far at the same time. It seems like it was yesterday, but it seems like it’s taking forever. It’s incomprehensible and difficult to put into words”, he said.

Mônica Benício also spoke about the statement made by Domingos Brandão’s lawyer, who stated that his client did not know Marielle Franco. “It’s not just from the point of view of personal pain, a statement like this made by a character like this, with the position he holds, is an offense to democracy, to every Brazilian who fought together with us for justice, for Marielle and Anderson “, he stated.

Regarding Rivaldo, Mônica stated once again that she felt betrayed by the former chief of Rio’s Civil Police. “I think it is not just a betrayal, but an attack on democracy itself. And which, unfortunately, also reveals a lot of what is politics in Rio de Janeiro and not only politics in Rio de Janeiro, but how its underworld articulates with the Police itself. We are talking about extremely corrupt agents, who put democracy at risk, who strengthen the militia as a armed wing of the State itself, making it an instrument of power within this country that needs to be fought”, he said.