AJC Welcomes Brazil's New Law to Fight Terrorism

NEW YORK, April 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC applauds Brazil's adoption of the country's first anti-terrorism law.

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Brazil (CONIB), an AJC international partner, had strongly advocated for the measure, which was recently adopted by Brazil's legislature and signed into law by President Dilma Rousseff. "Approval of the anti-terrorism law has been one of CONIB's top priorities," said CONIB President Fernando Lottenberg. "This law makes our country and our community safer and better prepared to face the growing global threat."

The law provides for imprisonment of 12 to 30 years for individuals convicted of committing acts of terrorism.

Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs, called the Brazilian law "a most welcome and needed step, and a model for other nations in the region."

"Brazil has now recognized the severity of the terrorism threat to its citizens and society," said Siegel Vann. "The continent has suffered for years from terrorist threats and plots hatched by Iran and its Hezbollah proxy, and now faces, as do the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of the world, the danger of ISIS and other jihadi groups. Vigilance is essential in this fight."

AJC reestablished a presence in Brazil in 2011, and signed an association agreement with CONIB in 2015. Muriel Asseraf is AJC's representative in São Paulo.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

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