Procedural and political aspects of forensic exhumation in Brazil

Guimarães, Marco Aurelio, Arrabaça Francisco, Raffaela, Evison, Martin, Miazato Iwamura, Edna Sadayo, Palhares Machado, Carlos Eduardo, da Silva, Ricardo, Castro Pinheiro, Maria Eliana, Santana, Diva and Guss Patrício, Julie Alvina (2017) Procedural and political aspects of forensic exhumation in Brazil. Human Remains and Violence: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 3 (1). pp. 37-51. ISSN 2054-2240

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Abstract

Exhumation may be defined as the legally sanctioned excavation and recovery of the remains of lawfully buried or – occasionally – cremated individuals, as distinct from forensic excavations of clandestinely buried remains conducted as part of a criminal investigation and from unlawful disinterment of human remains, commonly referred to as ‘bodysnatching’. The aim of this article is to review the role of exhumation – so defined – in the activities of CEMEL, the Medico-Legal Centre of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School-University of São Paulo, in international, regional and local collaborations. Exhumations form part of routine forensic anthropology casework; scientific research in physical and forensic anthropology; and forensic casework conducted in collaboration with the Brazilian Federal Police; and are carried out as part of humanitarian investigations into deaths associated with the civil–military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985. This article aims to offer a non-technical summary – with reference to international comparative information – of the role of exhumation in investigative and scientific work and to discuss developments in their historical and political context.

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