BY ERNIE MAILHOT
MIAMI - After three times delaying its decision, a Brazilian court decided to move the trial of José Rainha from the town of Pedro Canário in Espirito Santo state to Vitoria, the state capital. Rainha is a leader of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST). He faces 26 years in prison on frame-up charges of murder in the deaths of a landlord and a cop who assaulted a 1989 peaceful land occupation by MST activists.

The MST leader was convicted in an initial trial in Pedro Canário in June, even though there were no witnesses against him and photos and eyewitnesses confirmed that he was not present when the deaths occurred. The jury pool in the first trial was largely made up of landowners and their supporters. Under Brazilian law, Rainha is entitled to a second trial, and his lawyers made a motion that this be moved outside of Pedro Canario.

According to Dulcinea Pavan from the MST office in Sao Paulo, a panel of judges voted 4-3 on September 23 to move the trial to Vitoria. The landlords immediately appealed this ruling, however, so the fight over where the trial will take place is not over.

Supporters of the fight for justice for Rainha throughout the Americas and in other parts of the world have sent messages of protest to Brazilian officials. For information on the case in the United States, contact the Ad Hoc Committee to Defend José Rainha, c/o UNITE, 1501 NW 29th Street, Miami, FL 33142. Phone: (305) 868-5674. Fax: (305) 633-7478.  
 
 
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