and had buried him on the hacienda; the workers were therefore afraid that the same could
happen to them. Also, Antônio Francisco da Silva reported the disappearance of one of his
companions who worked in Hacienda Brasil Verde to the Federal Police. Based on the
foregoing, the workers could not leave the hacienda and feared for their lives. 183
172. As a result of the prohibition to leave the hacienda, if the workers needed to buy
something, they had to tell the hacienda foremen and the latter would go to the town, make
the corresponding purchases and deliver them, making the corresponding salary
deduction.184
173. Owing to the situation in which the workers found themselves, they longed to escape
from the hacienda. However, the surveillance to which they were subjected, added to the
absence of a salary, the isolated location of the hacienda, and the presence of wild animals
in the surrounding areas, prevented them from returning to their homes. Moreover, if the
guards caught someone trying to escape from the hacienda, in addition to returning him,
they destroyed his clothes and his sleeping hammock. 185
174. The youths, Antônio Francisco da Silva and Gonçalo Luiz Furtado, decided to leave the
hacienda during the first week therefore, of March 2000. Between March 3 and 5, at around
3 a.m., one of the guards came to the hut to wake the workers. Antônio Francisco da Silva
had a fever, and his companion, Gonçalo Luiz Furtado found it difficult to work as he had a
prosthetic leg. The guard angrily asked them if they were going to work and they answered
that they could not because they were ill. The guard beat them, forced them into a vehicle
and took them to the hacienda’s central office. There, Gonçalo Luiz Furtado was beaten again
and told that his prosthetic leg would be torn off him. One of the guards threatened to tie
them up for 15 days and even kill them immediately. The two youths were very frightened.
The guard took them behind the office, continued beating them, and then went to talk to the
other hacienda foremen. The young men took advantage of this opportunity to flee. They
walked through the forest, because they were afraid they would be found if they traveled by
road; they drank water from the forest floor and from the rivers they came across. 186
175. Subsequently, the youths reached a road. They were able to stop a petrol truck that
passed by; they told their story to the driver and he agreed to take them to Marabá. When
the young men found the Police Station, on March 7, 2000, they explained their situation to
an agent who was on duty. However, the agent told them that he could not help them as the
police chief was not working because it was carnival time, and told them to return in two
Cf. Statement by Marcos Antônio Lima, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016;
statement by Rogerio Félix da Silva, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016; statement
by Antônio Francisco da Silva, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016; statement by José
Batista Gonçalves Afonso, CPT Regional Coordinator, on the situation of Antônio Francisco da Silva and Gonçalo Luiz
Furtado, provided on March 8, 2000 (evidence file, folio 1038); Affidavit of Francisco de Assis Félix, dated May 8,
2015 (evidence file, folio 7570 a 7572), and Report of March 31, 2000, on the inspection of Hacienda Brasil Verde
(evidence file, folio 9572).
183
Cf. Statement by Rogerio Félix da Silva received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016, and
Affidavit of Francisco de Assis Félix, dated May 8, 2015 (evidence file, folio 7572).
184
Cf. Statement by Marcos Antônio Lima, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016;
statement by Rogerio Félix da Silva, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016; statement
by Francisco das Chagas Bastos Souza, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016; statement
by Antônio Francisco da Silva, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016; affidavit of Antônio
Fernandes da Costa, dated May 8, 2015 (evidence file, folio 7566); Affidavit of Francisco de Assis Félix, dated May
8, 2015 (evidence file, folio 7573), and Report of March 31, 2000, on the inspection of Hacienda Brasil Verde
(evidence file, folio 9572).
185
Cf. Statement by Antônio Francisco da Silva, received during the on-site procedure carried out on June 6, 2016;
statement by José Batista Gonçalves Afonso, CPT Regional Coordinator, on the situation of Antônio Francisco da
Silva and Gonçalo Luiz Furtado, provided on March 8, 2000 (evidence file, folio 1038), and Report of March 31,
2000, on the inspection of Hacienda Brasil Verde (evidence file, folio 9572).
186
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