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Liz Martin: Standing Up To Police Violence (Video)

BRAZILIAN POLICE KILL 5 PEOPLE EVERY DAY

For some, activism is a choice, but for many, it becomes an imperative when life circumstances thrust them against injustice, and the call to action a necessity. Such was the case for Liz Martin, whose nephew Joe was executed by Brazilian police on his 30th birthday when he was living as an expat in Rio de Janeiro. Liz’s personal story is harrowing and caused me to break down in tears when I first heard it. Please watch Liz tell her story in the following video – her talk is at the 35 minute mark:

Ever since the tragedy, Liz has dedicated her life to trying to reduce police lethality in Brazil, founding dontkillforme.org. Liz and I met after the release of my documentary, Rhythms of Resistance, about artists in Rio resisting police brutality in the favelas.

Liz is hosting a very important petition at her website, so please SIGN IT TODAY!

Police in Brazil have an extremely high rate of killing civilians, one of the highest rates in the world. The Brazilian police say killing civilians is a method to fight crime. As they “prepare” for the World Cup and “get ready” for the Olympics, they are killing for you! Tell them, ”Don’t Kill For ME, Safe Games for ALL”!
SIGN the petition to FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and event sponsors and partners, who have promised us safe games, and demand they work with the Brazilian government to implement the recommendations and projects outlined in our petition to reduce the high rate of police killings committed in the name of our safety. Tell them, ”Don’t Kill For ME, Safe Games for ALL”!
SIGN THE PETITION AT http://dontkill4me.org/

The very well respected Network of Communities and Movements against Violence in Rio had this to say about Liz’s initiative:

“We, the relatives of victims of police violence in Rio de Janeiro, and other human rights activists that make up the Rede de Comunidades e Movimentos Contra a Violência (Network of Communities and Movements against Violence), welcome this important international initiative. The Martin Family, as well as thousands of Brazilian families, have suffered from the arbitrariness of the Brazilian police. We shall continue our work to denounce human rights violations by the public security bodies in the slums and outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, and we are also aware of the rising of repression and the law of exception that has been happening in street protests, as has been predicted will happen during sports mega-events, such as the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. We persist in the fight to demilitarize the police, and to respect the dignity, rights and lives of millions of black and poor Brazilians who suffer from the state violence.”

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