The body of the Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, who was mistakenly killed by London police who thought he was a terrorist, will reach his hometown of Gonzaga, in the state of Minas Gerais, today.
The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The acting head of the secretariat of Human Rights, Mário Mamede Filho, will attend the funeral representing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The body will be flown from England to São Paulo at the expense of the British government. A Brazilian Air Force plane will then carry it to the city of Governador Valadares. The final 70 kilometers from Valadares to Gonzaga will be by car.
The Brazilian President talked yesterday by phone with the family of Jean Charles. Lula spoke to Jean’s father, Matosinhos Otoni da Silva and Jean’s brother, Giovani da Silva, according to information from the Presidency’s Press Secretariat.
Lula expressed his condolences and said that the Brazilian government had told the British government about the strange circumstances in which the killing of the Brazilian in London occurred.
He also stressed the importance that the family be promptly compensated for the tragic death and transmitted to Jean Charles’ family the British government’s apology request.
ABr