Brazil’s government promptly reacted to the news that Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, killed by mistake by the British police, had a fake visa and was illegally in Britain.
Brasília asked Great Britain’s authorities not to let the new findings jeopardize the investigations on Jean Charles’s murder.
The Itamaraty, Brazil’s Foreign Relations Ministry, reaffirmed that the British government is responsible for the death of the Brazilian citizen. Menezes was shot eight times, in a London subway station, on Friday, July 22.
His body arrived in Brazil Thursday morning and was received by a crowd in Gonzaga, state of Minas Gerais, his hometown. He will be buried this Friday.
For Brazil it is irrelevant that Jean Charles was living illegally in England. The Brazilian government once again blamed the British government for the “tragic death of an innocent and peaceful Brazilian citizen.”
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry showed to be especially concerned about the investigations being held by British authorities at the moment around the incident that led to Menezes’s death and the amount of compensation owed the Menezes family.
“Without considering the merit of this last information, it is the Brazilian government’s understanding that the British authorities responsibility is still the same”, stressed the Itamaraty, in its note.
Brazil’s foreign ministry informed that the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, had received a letter from his British counterpart, Jack Straw, in which he explained Menezes’ immigration situation.
Amorim emphasized that the new information presented by Straw contradicts the previous version presented earlier this week by the British authorities.
Amorim was in London on Monday. There he met Straw who informed that Jean Charles was living legally in London, meaning that he had the necessary valid passport and visa.
The Itamaraty note makes it clear that Brasília will continue monitoring up close the investigations in London as well as the process of compensation.