Journalist Míriam Leitão, a columnist for the newspaper O Globo, published this Tuesday, June 30, a Tribute to Clarice Herzog on her 85th birthday, wife of Vladimir Herzog, who was killed by the military regime in October 1975. In discussing her fight to hold the State accountable, Leitão highlighted that jurist Heleno Fragoso, founder of Fragoso Advogados, was the first attorney to take on the case, which culminated in a historic ruling against the Federal Government in 1978 for the journalist’s death.
Míriam Leitão noted in her column that journalist Zuenir Ventura was the one who approached Heleno Fragoso. Following the jurist’s entry into the case, other attorneys also worked on the lawsuit, including Sérgio Bermudes, Marco Antonio Rodrigues Barbosa, and Samuel MacDowell.
Míriam Leitão’s piece reconstructs the steps of Clarice Herzog’s humanitarian efforts since October 1975, when she publicly challenged the official version presented by the enforcement agencies regarding her husband’s death. According to the column, the widow turned the search for the truth into an unprecedented lawsuit for that era. The ruling marked one of the key chapters in the pursuit of memory and accountability for crimes committed during the military dictatorship.
The column also mentioned attempts to block the progress of the lawsuit. According to the account, the dictatorship filed a writ of security to halt the adjudication of the case and subsequently forced the retirement of Judge João Gomes Martins. The lawsuit was then taken over by Judge Márcio José de Moraes, who delivered the landmark ruling against the Federal Government.
