“Punishers” create groups to “hunt” crime suspects in Rio

Residents of Copacabana, a neighborhood in the south of Rio, have organized themselves into groups of “justices” to “hunt” people suspected of committing crimes in the region. Videos are circulating on social media showing the group’s mobilization on the streets of the neighborhood and conversations via WhatsApp. In one of the messages, a man sent an image of a brass knuckle and stated that it would “break the bones in the face” and leave the robbers “worse than they left the old man”.

On Saturday night (2), a 67-year-old businessman was attacked with punches and kicks after trying to help a woman who was being robbed. He fainted and had to be taken to an emergency care unit (UPA) in the region. The crime occurred on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana, one of the main roads in the neighborhood.

In a statement, the Civil Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro said it had identified the man who attacked the businessman. “​He has nine criminal records for robbery, theft and drug trafficking, for acts carried out since his adolescence, and has already been arrested twice since he reached the age of majority.​ Agents seek to identify the others involved and gather other evidence to conclude the case. investigation”, says the corporation’s statement released this Wednesday (6).

Furthermore, the Civil Police stated that they were aware of the actions of the vigilante group and that “efforts are underway to identify those involved and clarify the facts”. The Penal Code determines that “taking the law into your own hands” is a crime provided for in article 345. On Tuesday night (5), the group beat a man who, according to them, had already committed robberies in the region using a knife. The video of the action, released on social media, shows six people attacking the man with sticks, punches and kicks.

Rio Security Secretary says vigilantes are the birthplace of the militia

Rio’s new Secretary of Security, Victor Santos, stated that vigilante groups are the “cradle” of the militia. According to him, the group’s activities are being monitored and that “one crime cannot be justified by committing another.” The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL), recreated the Public Security Secretariat at the end of November. The department had been abolished by former governor Wilson Witzel in 2019.

“The birthplace of the militia is exactly that, a group that thinks it is above good and evil, that thinks it has the right to take justice into its own hands. And before the militia, we had extermination groups… They commit crimes with the objective of preventing crimes. In fact, everyone is a criminal. The vigilante is a criminal”, said the secretary in an interview with GloboNews.