BELEM, BRAZIL — A rancher accused of masterminding the slaying of a U.S.-born Catholic nun went on trial Monday in a case widely viewed as a test of the impunity long enjoyed by wealthy Brazilian landowners in the Amazon.
Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura is one of two cattlemen charged with ordering the 2005 killing of Sister Dorothy Stang, 73, who had over decades become a champion of poor settlers of the Amazon.
The petite nun was shot six times at close range at a rain forest encampment where she had gone to help subsistence farmers under threat from ranchers.
Three plotters -- two \o7pistoleiros\f7, or gunmen, and a middleman -- have already been convicted in connection with the nun's killing and are serving lengthy prison terms. The middleman told authorities he received the gun used in the killing from De Moura -- an allegation denied by the rancher.
As the hearing continued into the evening, convicted gunman Rayfran das Neves Sales testified that De Moura had nothing to do with the crime. Sales, who is serving a 27-year sentence, said he killed Stang because he felt threatened by her.
Prosecutors immediately cast doubt on Sales' testimony, noting that he had frequently changed his story.
The killing focused international attention on the lawless atmosphere of the Amazon, where cattlemen, loggers, settlers and indigenous peoples compete for dwindling resources.
As expected, De Moura denied any link to the slaying, contending he "had no participation" and didn't even know Stang.
Dressed in a black shirt and jeans, De Moura, 36, was animated and sometimes defiant during exchanges with the judge and attorneys.
But prosecutors say De Moura and his business partner, Regivaldo Galvao, who is free on bail, had been heard commenting on the need to eliminate "that old woman."
The pair sought to set up ranching on a patch of land that Stang had helped preserve for so-called sustainable development, small-scale agriculture designed to avoid ravaging the fragile ecosystem.
Prosecutors allege De Moura and his partner offered the gunmen the equivalent of about $25,000 to kill the nun.
A verdict is expected today, experts say. De Moura could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The case is being heard on the second floor of a courthouse in this Amazon gateway city that is also the capital of the state of Para, notorious for its lawlessness.
