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SAO PAULO -- Brazil's authorities connected Thursday signed a landmark statement accepting work for the sidesplitting of Vladimir Herzog, a salient writer and governmental captive whom the subject dictatorship falsely claimed had killed himself portion successful custody 50 years ago.
Herzog's household celebrated the authoritative admittance of liability, which progressive the authorities agreeing to wage them compensation.
“This apology is not simply symbolic,” the journalist’s son, Ivo Herzog, said from the Vladimir Herzog Institute successful Sao Paulo, an enactment dedicated to preserving his memory. “It is an enactment by the authorities that makes america judge the existent Brazilian authorities doesn’t deliberation similar the Brazilian authorities of that time.”
Under the settlement, the authorities volition wage astir 3 cardinal Brazilian reais (about $544,800) to the Herzog household arsenic compensation for motivation damages. The statement besides includes retroactive payments of a monthly pension to Herzog’s widow, Clarice Herzog, from a anterior tribunal order.
Along with Rubens Paiva — whose communicative was portrayed successful the 2025 Oscar-winning representation “I’m Still Here”— Herzog's lawsuit became a nationalist awesome of the combat to bring justness to the victims of the subject dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Official estimates enactment the fig of dormant and missing during the authorities astatine 434.
Herzog, commonly known by his nickname Vlado, was a Jewish writer calved successful 1937 successful Osijek, a Yugoslavian metropolis that is present portion of Croatia. His household escaped the Nazi concern of Yugoslavia successful 1941 and settled successful Brazil.
Herzog was the quality manager of a São Paulo tv presumption — the state-run TV Cultura — when, successful October 1975, quality agents summoned him for questioning connected suspicion that helium had ties to the outlawed Communist Party. Herzog, who had denied immoderate transportation to the Communist Party, walked into the Sao Paulo quality office to attest and ne'er came out.
At the time, the Brazilian subject claimed helium had hanged himself successful his compartment with a belt. The authorities released a nationalist photograph of his body, which was aboriginal proven to person been staged.
Jorge Messias, Brazil’s national ineligible counselor, praised the statement Thursday arsenic typical of Brazil's committedness to democracy.
“Today, we are witnessing thing unprecedented: The Brazilian authorities formally honoring the representation of Vladimir Herzog," helium said.
Messias said the statement held peculiar value successful this infinitesimal of tumult for Brazil's democracy.
Military officers accused of plotting a coup to support former president Jair Bolsonaro successful powerfulness contempt his nonaccomplishment to triumph re-election successful 2022 are standing proceedings successful a historical lawsuit earlier the Supreme Court,
“In the 2022 election, we stood astatine a crossroads: Either to reaffirm ideology oregon determination toward the closure of the Brazilian state, with each the horrors we lived done for 21 years,” Messias said.
Ivo Herzog said the colony closes a achy section successful his family’s decades-long combat for justice.
In 1978, a tribunal ruling issued portion Brazil was inactive nether dictatorship ordered an probe into the circumstances of his father’s death.
In 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights recovered Brazil guilty of crimes against humanity for Herzog's sidesplitting and prevented the lawsuit from expiring nether the statute of limitations. The ruling besides required the authorities to admit and formally apologize for the transgression but it didn't astatine the time.
“This has been a conflict not lone of the Herzog family, but of each the families of the murdered and disappeared,” Ivo Herzog said.
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