By STAN LEHMAN, Associated Press WriterSat Sep 27, 2:52 PM ET
The Brazilian government has promised to pay compensation to a U.S.
pastor who was arrested, beaten and tortured in 1974 under the former
military dictator****p.
The Rev. Frederick Birten Morris of the United Methodist Church will
be compensated 285,000 reals (US$154,000) plus a monthly pension of
2,000 reals (US$1,080), the Justice Ministry said on its Web site.
The decision was made Friday night by the Justice Ministry's Amnesty
Commission, which is reviewing the cases of victims the 1964-1985
dictator****p.
Morris is currently the president of Faith Partners of the Americas, a
Florida-based nonprofit that seeks to build ties between churches and
people in the Americas. Phone calls to Morris' home and cell phone and
to his organization went unanswered on Saturday.
The Methodist Church in Brazil said nobody was available to comment
and directed The Associated Press to its Web site, which said the
pastor arrived in the northeastern city of Recife in 1963 and was
tasked with fostering closer ties with the Roman Catholic Church. He
also worked as a freelance correspondent for Time magazine.
In 1974, Time published an article praising Catholic Archbishop Helder
Camara — an outspoken critic of the dictator****p dubbed the "Red
Bishop" by the regime. Though Morris had not contributed to the piece,
the Methodist Church said, it irritated local army commanders who
ordered his arrest.
During 16 days in captivity in an army barracks, Morris was beaten and
tortured with electric shocks several times before being released and
de****ted.
Unlike other South American nations such as Argentina and Chile,
Brazil has never prosecuted any member of the armed forces for human
rights abuses under its dictator****p. A 1979 amnesty law pardoned all
Brazilians — civilian and military — for crimes committed under the
dictator****p.
A government study last year found that 475 people were killed or
disappeared at the hands of security forces during the military
regime.
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