Court rules arrest of 13 investigated over Brumadinho disaster

Minas Gerais court authorities on Wednesday (Mar. 13) ruled the arrest of 11 employees of mining giant Vale and two of subcontractor Tüv Süd, investigated as part of the probe into the rupture of the tailings dam in Brumadinho. All habeas corpus petitions filed in their favor were rejected.

All 13 will therefore have to be temporarily arrested, as stipulated by Judge Rodrigo Heleno Chaves. The vale employees are being brought under investigation over their involvement in the collapse, whereas Tüv Süd engineers attested the stability of the dam.

The decision names Artur Bastos Ribeiro, Marilene Christina Oliveira Lopes de Assis Araújo, Cristina Heloiza da Silva Malheiros, Renzo Albieri Guimarães Carvalho, Joaquim Pedro de Toledo, Alexandre de Paula Campanha, Hélio Márcio Lopes de Cerqueira, Felipe Figueiredo Rocha, Makoto Manba, André Yum Yassuda, César Augusto Paulino Grandchamp, Rodrigo Artur Gomes Melo, and Ricardo de Oliveira.