Inês Etienne Romeu, a former political prisoner and the only person to survive the infamous Casa da Morte (House of Death), a clandestine torture site in Petrópolis used by Brazil’s military dictatorship, died in her sleep yesterday morning. She was 72.
Romeu, who had been a member of the Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária (Popular Revolutionary Vanguard) during Brazil´s period of military rule, was committed to speaking out about her experience at the Casa da Morte. As the sole survivor of the torture site, her accounts were key to identifying several of her torturers. Notably, her accounts led to the identification of Amílcar Lobo, a medical doctor who allegedly was responsible of keeping victims of the Casa da Morte alive during their torture. Lobo’s medical license was subsequently revoked.
Romeu also provided important testimony to Brazil´s National Truth Commission, which published its official report late last year. The report unequivocally established that “under the military dictatorship, repression and the elimination of political opposition became the policy of the state, conceived and implemented based on decisions by the president of the republic and military ministers.”
Following her release from the Casa da Morte in 1971, Romeu’s family and lawyers decided that she should turn herself into the state and be formally imprisoned to escape future torture. After eight years, she was released under the terms of Brazil’s Amnesty Law. According the National Truth Commission, the same law that freed Romeu is one of the final obstacles impeding the prosecution of the country’s 191 alleged perpetrators of human rights violations.
