STF Orders Evidence Preservation in Rio’s Deadliest Police Raid as UN Calls for Independent Probe

Overview

• Justice Alexandre de Moraes directed Rio authorities to preserve and document all material from Operação Contenção, ensure chain of custody, give access to public defenders, and appear for a Nov. 5 hearing under the ADPF das Favelas case.
• UN human-rights experts urged an immediate, independent investigation, citing reports of possible unlawful killings, bound hands and shots to the head, home invasions without warrants, and risks of reprisals against witnesses.
• Official figures list 121 dead, including four police officers, 113 arrests, roughly 2,500 officers deployed over about 18 hours, and around 120 weapons seized, including 93 rifles; authorities say about 40% of arrestees and 39 of the dead were from other states.
• Rio’s public defender said the IML has completed forensic work and released all 117 non-police bodies to families, as identifications near completion.
• A Genial/Quaest poll shows 64% approval of the raid but 52% feeling less safe and 74% fearing retaliation, while Governor Cláudio Castro visited injured officers and continued to defend the operation.