To mark this October 25th, the date on which journalist Vladimir Herzog was murdered by the military dictatorship 50 years ago, the Arns Commission and the Vladimir Herzog Institute held an ecumenical event that filled the Sé Cathedral, in the center of the capital of São Paulo. The place was also the stage, days after the journalist’s death, for the historic inter-religious ceremony of 1975, which challenged the military regime and brought together around 8 thousand people.
Present at the event, Ivo Herzog, Vladimir’s son, stated that all family members of victims of the military dictatorship in the country hope that a legal process will be carried out. “[O que falta] it is the investigation of the circumstances of the crimes that were committed, it is an indictment of the perpetrators of the crimes, whether they are alive or dead, it is the trial and decision of our judiciary whether they committed or did not commit crimes”, he told the press.
Ivo highlighted that the review of the opinion of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in relation to the 1979 Amnesty Law is a struggle for society. He recalled that ADPF 320, which deals with amnesty, has been in the hands of the rapporteur, Minister Dias Toffoli, for more than eight years.
“Brazil has a tradition, since it became a republic, where several coups and/or attempted coups have occurred. All of these events have two things in common: the presence of the military and impunity.”
ADPF 320 deals with the interpretation that the judicial system and the Public Power give to the Amnesty Law. Filed in 2014 and still pending judgment, the action was filed by the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL).
“I understand that this delay, this abstention by Minister Toffoli, unfortunately, is complicity with this culture of impunity. And tonight, our demonstration, our indignation at the State agents who committed atrocities against all the loved ones, the family members to whom we dedicate this night, sensitizes the STF ministers, sensitizes Dias Toffoli’s minister”, added Ivo.
The Vladimir Herzog Institute – which joined as amicus curiae of the ADPF in December 2021 – understands that the current interpretation of the Amnesty Law ensures impunity for crimes against humanity committed by agents of the military dictatorship and is at odds with international human rights treaties to which Brazil is a signatory.
Inter-religious event at the Sé Church commemorates the death of journalist Vladimir Herzog, on October 25, 1975. Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil
Ivo also stated that the issue of amnesty has been hijacked by the extreme right. “Amnesty is a pardon. The 1979 amnesty, in itself, is an aberration, because the authoritarian regime at the time never acknowledged that it committed any crime. How can we grant amnesty to those who did not commit a crime? The same thing is happening again with those who are being tried on January 8th. They do not admit that they committed a crime,” he said.
Acting president Geraldo Alckmin was at this Saturday’s ceremony. “Vladimir Herzog’s death was the result of state extremism which, instead of protecting citizens, persecuted and killed them. Therefore, strengthening democracy, justice and freedom”, said Alckmin.
Asked if he was in favor of revising the 1979 Amnesty Law, he stated: “I think we have already taken good steps on this issue”.
Ivo Herzog highlighted that Alckmin’s presence reaffirms the State’s commitment to democracy. “50 years ago, when more than 8 thousand people came to this cathedral to demonstrate their indignation against the barbarity that was committed against my father, there was a lot of fear, fear of the State. There were dozens of snipers on duty waiting for any demonstration, any disorder to justify a massacre”, he recalled.
“Today, in the person of the president, Geraldo Alckmin, we have the State hand in hand with us, to reaffirm the commitment to democracy, to reaffirm the commitment to justice, to reaffirm the commitment to human rights, to reaffirm the commitment to the truth.”
Vlado’s murder
Journalist Vladimir Herzog was murdered by the military dictatorship 50 years ago, on October 25, 1975. Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil
Vladimir Herzog was tortured and killed on the premises of Doi-Codi – a repressive body of the military dictatorship subordinate to the Army -, where he had been arrested without a court order. Director of Journalism at TV Cultura at the time, Vlado, as he was known among colleagues and friends, had voluntarily presented himself, on the morning of October 25, 1975, to the repression body.
“I was locked in a strong cell, I heard someone being tortured and the question was basically ‘who are the journalists?’. [Eu me questionava:] ‘Who could it be at this point? Anyone who was supposed to be arrested has already been arrested or escaped,’” recalls journalist Sérgio Gomes.
He was imprisoned in Doi-Codi on the date Vlado was murdered. “After all, there is a time when everything stops, there is silence, people are moved from one place to another, and that is the time when they remove the body and simulate the suicide”, he reported.
Since Herzog’s death, his wife, Clarice Herzog, has been at the forefront of denunciations of her husband’s political assassination.
On October 31, 1975, an event was held at the Sé Cathedral, a milestone in democratic resistance led by religious leaders such as Cardinal Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, Rabbi Henry Sobel and Reverend Jaime Wright, with the support of journalist Audálio Dantas, then president of the São Paulo Journalists Union. Five decades later, the new inter-religious event at the Cathedral is dedicated to the memory of all the victims of the dictatorship.
This afternoon, journalists marched from the Vladimir Herzog auditorium, at the headquarters of the category’s union in São Paulo (SJPSP), to the Cathedral to participate in the event at the cathedral.
“Today is a very special, very emotional day. Right after Herzog’s murder, on the 25th, there was an assembly at the union, in which hundreds of journalists decided to organize the act on October 31st at the Sé Cathedral, which was that first major act against the military dictatorship, post AI-5. Remembering this journey, doing this activity, was very beautiful, with people from different generations, fellow journalists”, said Thiago Tanji, president from SJPSP.
“It is important to remember that the people who tortured and murdered Vladimir Herzog were not convicted, were not investigated, so our fight against impunity is about the past, but also in the present, against past and present coup plotters. Carrying out this activity with a full cathedral, a significant place in the fight for democracy, is very special”, he concluded.
Several people who attended the first act and returned to the cathedral 50 years later received a standing ovation. Also present were names such as Luiza Erundina, Eugênia Gonzaga, Amelinha Teles, Jurema Werneck, Fernando Morais, José Dirceu, Ivan Valente, Sérgio Gomes, Eduardo Suplicy, José Genoíno, Paulo Teixeira, Paulo Vannuchi, Rui Falcão, Ariel de Castro Alves, José Trajano, Juca Kfouri, Andre Basbaum, José Carlos Dias and Frei Chico.
At the beginning of this Saturday’s ceremony, around 7 pm, those present followed a performance by the Luther King Choir, which was followed by inter-religious demonstrations, with the presence of Dom Odilo Pedro Scherer, Reverend Anita Wright – daughter of Jaime Wright, and Rabbi Rav Uri Lam. The act was interspersed with songs performed by the choir and speeches.
Still in the cathedral, videos were shown especially produced for the occasion, with images of demonstrations and state victims from the military dictatorship to the present day. Among the videos was the reading of a letter from Zora Herzog, Vlado’s mother, written by actress Fernanda Montenegro, to judge Márcio José de Moraes, who recognized the right to compensation for Vladimir Herzog’s family by the Union.
