(Brasilia) A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Monday ordered the immediate incarceration of four people convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2013 fire at the Kiss nightclub that killed 242 people.
In ordering their immediate incarceration, Judge José Antonio Dias Toffoli of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) overturned the decisions of two lower courts that, in 2022 and 2023, had annulled the prison sentences – ranging from 18 to 22 years – of the four convicts due to procedural irregularities.
The convicts will thus begin serving their sentences, although they can still decide to bring this case before the full STF which can invalidate Mr. Dias Toffoli’s judgment, explained a judicial source.
Their lawyers said Monday they would pursue appropriate legal action, without providing further details.
On January 27, 2013, during a university party at the Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria (South), a member of the group Gurizada Fandangueira lit a pyrotechnic device that set fire to the cladding, trapping a thousand young people.
Many of them died from burns or suffocation from toxic fumes as the premises turned into a blaze. The investigation also found that fire extinguishers were not working, signage was faulty and only two doors allowed the crowd to escape.
The four convicts, two members of the group and two businessmen, were tried in December 2021.