'Five years and no justice' as trial over killing of indigenous forest guard delayed

“You are free and I am still here. Maybe they're planning to execute me too. “I’m very worried about that,” says indigenous leader Laércio Guajajara, a survivor of a suspected ambush by illegal loggers that killed fellow forest ranger Paulo Paulino Guajajara in November 2019 in the Arariboia indigenous territory of the Brazilian Amazon.

Laércio says he is outraged by the delay in the trial of the two suspects charged over the incident half a decade ago, on November 1, 2019. “I never believed that justice would help us in terms of territorial self-protection.” He tells Mongabay in an audio message. “And today [it’s confirming] that there is no justice for indigenous peoples. It’s been five years and no justice has been done.”

Like Laércio, Paulo was a member of the “Guardians of the Forest,” a group of indigenous Guajajara in Arariboia who risk their lives to protect their ancestral lands from illegal logging, hunting and other environmental crimes. The group, founded a decade ago, also protects the Awá people, hunter-gatherers who live in voluntary isolation in the depths of Arariboia's forests and are considered the most threatened indigenous group on the planet.

Between 1991 and 2023, 81 indigenous Guajajara were killed in the northeastern state of Maranhão, more than two-thirds of all killings of indigenous people in the entire state. According to the Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI), an advocacy group of the Catholic Church, and the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), a branch of the Catholic Church, almost half of these killings, 38, occurred in the Arariboia area, according to the Church, which works with Brazilian farm workers , who strive for agricultural land reform. None of the perpetrators were brought to justice. The Guajajara people say those killed include six forest guards.

Paulo's case will be a legal milestone once he goes to trial, as it will be the first killing of an Indigenous leader to be tried by a federal jury. In most cases, homicides are considered crimes against individuals and are tried by a state jury. But Paulo's death was escalated to the federal level because prosecutors argued it was an act of aggression against the entire Guajajara community and indigenous culture.

As Mongabay reported a year ago, the start of the trial hinged on an anthropological report on the collective harm caused to the indigenous community by the crimes. However, this report has yet to be produced.

Alfredo Falcão, the federal prosecutor leading the case, says several problems over the past 12 months “have clearly hampered the speed of the trial” and led to a delay in the trial, including a change of judges and the long time taken to select the judge Experts were needed to prepare the report and the delay in obtaining the expert's cost estimate. Furthermore, there was “resistance” from the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to pay for the report, he added.

In fact, the AGU filed a petition arguing that the cost of the anthropological report should be covered by the federal Ministry of Public Affairs or by Funai, Brazil's indigenous affairs agency; The court rejected the request.

In a Nov. 6 email statement, AGU said it made a deposit on Nov. 1. However, this information is still not reflected in the justice system. On November 11, Falcão filed a motion asking the judge to set a deadline and impose a fine for non-compliance. In an emailed statement on November 12, the court said that the deadline granted to AGU had already expired and “there is no evidence in the proceedings that a deposit was made.”

'Impunity! Injustice!'

On November 1, a group of 18 forest guards went for the first time to the site of Paulo's assassination to honor his memory and demand justice for him and all Guajajara who lost their lives defending Arariboia, Lucimar says Carvalho, a former lawyer with CIMI and now with the Guardians who joined the mission.

“Impunity! Injustice! Five years since the murder of Paulo Paulino!” reads one of the signs at the crime scene, along with a banner with Paulo's photo and the inscription: “More than 500 years of genocide against indigenous peoples.” No more murders! The guards also displayed signs demanding compliance with the federal constitution and land markings.

Paulo was killed after stopping to drink at a waterhole. At the five-year commemoration, Carvalho says one of Paulo's relatives, Juliana Guajajara, cleaned the waterhole to honor his memory. Carvalho said it was important to highlight that it was the first time the guards had returned to this “risky” area. “It’s super risky out there. We found lead capsules and at night we also heard shots from people who were hunting there,” she tells Mongabay in a telephone interview. “At least we didn’t find any non-Indigenous people there.”

Paulo's father, José Maria Guajajara, says he is outraged by the delay in the trial. “It's taking too long. Won't they solve this case?” He tells Mongabay via voice message: “It's too painful for us to lose a child.” I can't stop crying, and neither can his mother when we turn to him remember.”

José Maria laments the lack of justice towards indigenous peoples. “If we Indians die, there will be no justice. The justice system has never solved a case, just like with the other deceased relatives. There is no one in prison.” He says he wants to talk to the authorities because Paulo’s case “cannot go unpunished.”

Falcão, the prosecutor, says: “Unfortunately, the time that the bureaucracy needs is not the time that the victims need, and that is the fastest possible time.” He adds that in this particular case I am concerned about the change of judge and the pace of the court “seems a little slow,” unlike the federal court in the state of Pernambuco, where he lives. Falcão is leading Paulo's case because he is one of the few federal prosecutors with federal jury experience.

According to Falcão, once the payment for the anthropological report is settled, the lawyers of the two accused suspects will be notified so that they can ask their questions for the anthropological report, since they have the right to participate in the preparation of evidence. “The expert will be working for the judge, so he has to listen to both sides,” Falcão tells Mongabay in a telephone interview.

As soon as this phase is completed, the trial can finally begin, says Falcão. Since there is already a federal jury list, he added, the next steps will be to identify the jury and invite the parties to attend the jury and indicate the evidence they plan to use during the plenary session, including but not limited to Witnesses, documents and videos. Falcão says he is confident the trial will take place in the first half of 2025.

“Things for us in Arariboia are very difficult, we don’t see justice,” says Laércio. “But I’m still a warrior.”

Banner image: On November 1, a group of 18 Guardians of the Forest went for the first time to the site where fellow Guardian Paulo Paulino Guajajara was killed five years ago to honor his memory and demand justice for him and all Guajajara who died at lost their lives defending the indigenous territory of Arariboia in the Brazilian Amazon. Image courtesy of the Ka'aiwar Indigenous Association of Forest Guardians of the Arariboia Indigenous Territory.

The Ka'aiwar Indigenous Association of Forest Guardians of the Arariboia Indigenous Territory welcomes donations to build a school named after Paulo Paulino Guajajara. The club was also founded three years after Paulo's murder receives donations to protect the indigenous territory of Arariboia.

Karla Mendes is an investigative and features reporter for Mongabay in Brazil and a fellow Member of the Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Investigations Network. She is the one first Brazilian and Latin American ever elected to the Board of Directors of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ); She was also named Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Read her stories published on Mongabay Here. Find them on 𝕏, Instagram, LinkedIn, Topics And Bluesky.

End of impunity for indigenous killings in Guajajara, Brazil in sight