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Al Jazeera
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Brazil announces compensation for dictatorship victim Vladimir Herzog
The government of Brazil has announced an agreement to acknowledge its responsibility in the murder of Vladimir Herzog, a journalist and dissident who was killed during the country's dictatorship period. On Thursday, the government agreed to a statement of liability and a compensation package for Herzog's family, amounting to 3 million Brazilian reais, or $544,800. The settlement also affirmed the decision of a federal court earlier this year to grant Herzog's widow, Clarice Herzog, retroactive payments of a pension she should have received after her husband's death, amounting to about $6,000 per month. In a statement recorded by The Associated Press news agency, Herzog's son, Ivo Herzog, applauded the government's decision to accept responsibility. 'This apology is not merely symbolic,' Ivo said. 'It is an act by the state that makes us believe the current Brazilian state doesn't think like the Brazilian state of that time.' He added that his family's story represented hundreds, if not thousands, of others who had their loved ones killed during the dictatorship period from 1964 to 1985. Having the government acknowledge its wrongdoing, he explained, has been a decades-long fight. 'This has been a struggle not only of the Herzog family, but of all the families of the murdered and disappeared,' said Ivo, who now runs a human rights nonprofit named for his father, the Vladimir Herzog Institute. Vladimir Herzog was 38 years old at the time of his death in 1975, midway through the dictatorship period. The Brazilian army had overthrown left-wing President Joao Goulart a decade earlier and installed a government that became known for human rights abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and torture of dissidents, students, politicians, Indigenous people and anyone else deemed to be a threat. Many went into exile. Some were killed or simply disappeared without a trace. The number of deaths is estimated to be about 500, though some experts place that figure at 10,000 or higher. Herzog was a prominent journalist, and initially, he too went into exile in the United Kingdom. But he returned to Brazil to serve as the news editor for a public television station, TV Cultura. It was in that role that, on October 24, 1975, Herzog was summoned by authorities to an army barrack. There, military officials indicated he would be asked to testify about his political connections. Herzog voluntarily left to offer his statement. But he never returned home. The military later claimed Herzog's death was a suicide, and it released a staged photo of his body hanging from a rope. But a rabbi who later examined Herzog's body found signs of torture. Herzog's funeral, conducted with full religious rites, turned into a moment of reckoning for the Brazilian dictatorship, and the staged photograph became a symbol of its abuses. His son Ivo was only nine years old at the time. Earlier this year, he spoke to Al Jazeera about the release of a film called I'm Still Here that highlighted another murder committed under the dictatorship: that of Rubens Paiva, a politician. Like Herzog, Paiva voluntarily left to give testimony at the request of military officials and was never seen alive again. His body was never found. It took decades for Paiva's family to receive a death certificate that acknowledged the military's role in his death. Ivo praised the film I'm Still Here for raising awareness about the injustices of the dictatorship. He also told Al Jazeera that he hoped for the Brazilian government to acknowledge the harm it had done to his family and to amend the 1979 Amnesty Law that shielded many military officials from facing accountability. 'What are they waiting for? For everyone connected to that period to die?' Herzog told journalist Eleonore Hughes. 'Brazil has a politics of forgetfulness, and we have evolved very, very little.' On Thursday, Jorge Messias, Brazil's federal legal counsellor, framed the agreement with the Herzog family as a step forward. 'Today, we are witnessing something unprecedented: The Brazilian state formally honouring the memory of Vladimir Herzog,' he said. He also compared the 1964 coup d'etat with the modern circumstances of Brazilian politics. On January 8, 2023, thousands of supporters of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in Brazil's capital, after the 2022 election saw their candidate defeated. The current president, left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has compared that incident to a coup. Bolsonaro testified this month in court over charges he helped orchestrate an effort to overturn the election result. 'In the 2022 election, we stood at a crossroads: Either to reaffirm democracy or move toward the closure of the Brazilian state, with all the horrors we lived through for 21 years,' Messias said, referencing the horrors of the dictatorship.
The Independent
20 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Brazil agrees to compensate family of journalist killed during dictatorship 50 years ago
Brazil 's government on Thursday signed a landmark agreement accepting responsibility for the killing of Vladimir Herzog, a prominent journalist and political prisoner whom the military dictatorship falsely claimed had killed himself while in custody 50 years ago. Herzog's family celebrated the official admission of liability, which involved the government agreeing to pay them compensation. 'This apology is not merely symbolic,' the journalist's son, Ivo Herzog, said from the Vladimir Herzog Institute in Sao Paulo, an organization dedicated to preserving his memory. 'It is an act by the state that makes us believe the current Brazilian state doesn't think like the Brazilian state of that time.' Under the settlement, the government will pay nearly 3 million Brazilian reais (about $544,800) to the Herzog family as compensation for moral damages. The agreement also includes retroactive payments of a monthly pension to Herzog's widow, Clarice Herzog, from a prior court order. Along with Rubens Paiva — whose story was portrayed in the 2025 Oscar-winning picture 'I'm Still Here'— Herzog's case became a national symbol of the fight to bring justice to the victims of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Official estimates put the number of dead and missing during the regime at 434. Herzog, commonly known by his nickname Vlado, was a Jewish journalist born in 1937 in Osijek, a Yugoslavian city that is now part of Croatia. His family escaped the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 and settled in Brazil. Herzog was the news director of a São Paulo television station — the state-run TV Cultura — when, in October 1975, intelligence agents summoned him for questioning on suspicion that he had ties to the outlawed Communist Party. Herzog, who had denied any connection to the Communist Party, walked into the Sao Paulo intelligence headquarters to testify and never came out. At the time, the Brazilian military claimed he had hanged himself in his cell with a belt. The government released a public photo of his body, which was later proven to have been staged. Jorge Messias, Brazil's federal legal counselor, praised the agreement Thursday as representative of Brazil's commitment to democracy. 'Today, we are witnessing something unprecedented: The Brazilian state formally honoring the memory of Vladimir Herzog," he said. Messias said the agreement held particular significance in this moment of tumult for Brazil's democracy. Military officers accused of plotting a coup to keep former president Jair Bolsonaro in power despite his failure to win re-election in 2022 are standing trial in a historic case before the Supreme Court, 'In the 2022 election, we stood at a crossroads: Either to reaffirm democracy or move toward the closure of the Brazilian state, with all the horrors we lived through for 21 years,' Messias said. Ivo Herzog said the settlement closes a painful chapter in his family's decades-long fight for justice. In 1978, a court ruling issued while Brazil was still under dictatorship ordered an investigation into the circumstances of his father's death. In 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Brazil guilty of crimes against humanity for Herzog's killing and prevented the case from expiring under the statute of limitations. The ruling also required the state to acknowledge and formally apologize for the crime but it didn't at the time. 'This has been a struggle not only of the Herzog family, but of all the families of the murdered and disappeared,' Ivo Herzog said. ____
Associated Press
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Brazil agrees to compensate family of journalist killed during dictatorship 50 years ago
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's government on Thursday signed a landmark agreement accepting responsibility for the killing of Vladimir Herzog, a prominent journalist and political prisoner whom the military dictatorship falsely claimed had killed himself while in custody 50 years ago. Herzog's family celebrated the official admission of liability, which involved the government agreeing to pay them compensation. 'This apology is not merely symbolic,' the journalist's son, Ivo Herzog, said from the Vladimir Herzog Institute in Sao Paulo, an organization dedicated to preserving his memory. 'It is an act by the state that makes us believe the current Brazilian state doesn't think like the Brazilian state of that time.' Under the settlement, the government will pay nearly 3 million Brazilian reais (about $544,800) to the Herzog family as compensation for moral damages. The agreement also includes retroactive payments of a monthly pension to Herzog's widow, Clarice Herzog, from a prior court order. Along with Rubens Paiva — whose story was portrayed in the 2025 Oscar-winning picture 'I'm Still Here'— Herzog's case became a national symbol of the fight to bring justice to the victims of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Official estimates put the number of dead and missing during the regime at 434. Herzog, commonly known by his nickname Vlado, was a Jewish journalist born in 1937 in Osijek, a Yugoslavian city that is now part of Croatia. His family escaped the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941 and settled in Brazil. Herzog was the news director of a São Paulo television station — the state-run TV Cultura — when, in October 1975, intelligence agents summoned him for questioning on suspicion that he had ties to the outlawed Communist Party. Herzog, who had denied any connection to the Communist Party, walked into the Sao Paulo intelligence headquarters to testify and never came out. At the time, the Brazilian military claimed he had hanged himself in his cell with a belt. The government released a public photo of his body, which was later proven to have been staged. Jorge Messias, Brazil's federal legal counselor, praised the agreement Thursday as representative of Brazil's commitment to democracy. 'Today, we are witnessing something unprecedented: The Brazilian state formally honoring the memory of Vladimir Herzog,' he said. Messias said the agreement held particular significance in this moment of tumult for Brazil's democracy. Military officers accused of plotting a coup to keep former president Jair Bolsonaro in power despite his failure to win re-election in 2022 are standing trial in a historic case before the Supreme Court, 'In the 2022 election, we stood at a crossroads: Either to reaffirm democracy or move toward the closure of the Brazilian state, with all the horrors we lived through for 21 years,' Messias said. Ivo Herzog said the settlement closes a painful chapter in his family's decades-long fight for justice. In 1978, a court ruling issued while Brazil was still under dictatorship ordered an investigation into the circumstances of his father's death. In 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Brazil guilty of crimes against humanity for Herzog's killing and prevented the case from expiring under the statute of limitations. The ruling also required the state to acknowledge and formally apologize for the crime but it didn't at the time. 'This has been a struggle not only of the Herzog family, but of all the families of the murdered and disappeared,' Ivo Herzog said. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
Al Jazeera
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Jazeera
'A politics of forgetfulness'
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – On January 8, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stood in the capital Brasilia and uttered three words that would tie past to present. 'Today is the day to say it loud and clear: We're still here.' It was a reference to the biographical drama I'm Still Here, a film seen by over 4.1 million Brazilians, making it one of the country's highest-grossing films ever. On Sunday, it competes in three categories at the 97th annual Academy Awards, where it will be the first Brazilian film shot in Portuguese to be in contention for the much-coveted Best Picture Oscar. But the movie is more than a box office success. For many in Brazil, it is a portal to confront a violent past, one that has yet to be fully reckoned with. In 1964, the Brazilian army overthrew the government, plunging Brazil into a military dictatorship that would rule for more than two decades. Journalism was censored. Suspected dissidents were detained by the thousands without trial. And hundreds simply disappeared in official custody, never to return. At least 434 people were killed, though some experts say the number could be as high as 10,000. Few monuments or museums exist in Brazil to keep the memory of those events alive. And since the dictatorship passed a sweeping Amnesty Law in 1979, Brazil has never prosecuted any of the military officials responsible for the widespread human rights abuses. Ivo Herzog, a human rights advocate, said the film has helped to pierce the silence surrounding that history. 'The main importance of the film is that it was able to break through the bubble,' Herzog said. 'It brought a little of this indignation that we've been experiencing for so long to people who haven't lived this story, to people who don't understand.'
