Brazilians indicted in U.S. nun's death

A federal grand jury has indicted two Brazilians, already facing charges at home, in the killing of an American nun who spent decades trying to save the Amazon rain forest.

A three-count indictment returned Tuesday in Washington charges Rayfran das Neves Sales, 28, and Clodoaldo Carlos Batista, 30 with conspiracy to murder an American citizen outside the United States, murder and using a firearm in commission of their alleged crime.

Dorothy Stang, 73, was shot dead Feb. 12 near the town of Anapu in northern Brazil. Stang, a naturalized Brazilian originally from Dayton, Ohio, worked for more than 20 years on behalf of peasants and rain forest preservation.

The men have been in Brazilian custody since late February. Brazilian police have charged five men in connection with Stang's death, including a rancher who allegedly ordered her killed.

A Brazilian prosecutor has said their trial would take place late this year, at the earliest.

It was unclear whether and when the U.S. government would seek to extradite the two men indicted Tuesday.

Stang's shooting "is widely regarded as a direct response to her activism in advocating land reform and peasants' rights within the programs set forth by the Brazilian government," the Justice Department said in a statement.

(Published: Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2005)
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