A woman on a train in Minas Gerais alerted authorities after a passenger was found secretly filming her seven-year-old son. The man, an Argentine tourist, initially refused to show his phone, then admitted he had sent the images to a WhatsApp contact. The mother photographed the phone screen while other passengers detained him until the train reached its destination. Police arrested Eduardo Ignacio Murias, 63, for racial insult under Brazilian law. The images included text stating the child was Black but “very cute,” and that the sender could take him as a slave. The incident renewed debate in both countries about racism, national identity, and Argentina’s European heritage. Murias was the third Argentine arrested for racism in Brazil that year, alongside other cases in Rio and earlier incidents involving alleged racist behavior toward service workers.
"When confronted, the man an Argentinian tourist initially refused to show his phone. But after being pressed by other travellers, the man admitted he had sent the images to a WhatsApp contact. Police later revealed that under the photos, Eduardo Ignacio Murias, 63, an architect from the Argentinian province of Santiago del Estero, had written: He's Black but very cute. I could take him as a slave. I'm thinking of taking a slave, there are many here."
"The child's mother photographed the phone screen and passengers kept Murias inside the the train until it reached its destination, where he was arrested for racial insult, a crime under Brazilian law. The case has reignited debate in both countries about racism, national identity and Argentina's longstanding pride in its European heritage."
"Murias was the third Argentinian to be arrested for racism in Brazil this year, at a time when record numbers of Argentinians tourists are travelling to the country. In April, Jose Luis Haile, 67, was arrested after allegedly directing racist insults at a food delivery worker at a supermarket in Rio. He is awaiting trial."
"In January, Agostina Paez, 29, was arrested in Rio after being filmed mimicking a monkey towards a waiter at a nightclub. Although later released, she was barred from leaving Brazil for two and a half months while the investigation continued. During that time, she claimed on social media that her rights were being violated and she was facing persecution a narrative echoed by parts of the Argentinian media. The waiter is suing Paez for moral damages."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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