“They tied him up and whipped him until he promised to not do it again,” de Souza said, adding that the crime of torture carries a prison sentence of up to eight years. The youth said he was stopped after leaving the supermarket by guards who found he had stolen chocolate. He began an inquiry, interviewed the victim and identified the two security guards. Scenes of thieves – often young black men and teenagers – being tied up, tortured and even murdered are common in Brazil.Įven so, de Souza said he was “extremely shocked” when a journalist sent him the video on Monday afternoon.
