Leandro Lo's mother laments the acquittal of the military police officer and expresses her grief: 'I buried my son for the second time'

Leandro Lo was a multi-time jiu-jitsu champion and is a legend in the sport. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/leandrolojj

Fatima Lo, mother of Leandro Lo, will not give up until she obtains justice after his death. Last Friday (14), in São Paulo, military police officer Henrique Otávio Oliveira Velozo was acquitted by the popular jury of the accusation of having killed the former world jiu-jitsu champion. The episode that shocked Brazil and the world of fighting happened in 2022, during a party at Clube Sírio, in São Paulo. On that occasion, the athlete was shot in the head and was rescued alive, but did not survive. Inconsolable with the outcome of the trial, Fatima did not hide her sadness.

On her official Instagram account, Leandro Lo's mother, visibly shaken, lamented the acquittal of the military police officer and made an emotional statement. In the post, the mother of the jiu-jitsu legend detailed what happened during the three days of the trial and revealed that she even became ill.

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Held in pre-trial detention for just over three years, Henrique was released last Saturday (15), after the jurors accepted his lawyers' argument that he shot Leandro Lo in self-defense after a second confrontation. With the acquittal, the military police officer should return to the force in the coming days, but Fátima guaranteed that she will not give up on seeking justice for her son, promising that, as long as she breathes, she will fight for him.

“I’m here to talk about my sadness and indignation regarding what happened during these three days of suffering for us. I buried Leandro for the second time. That’s how I feel. We were so humiliated there, massacred by the defense, they were constantly provoking us, humiliating us, and we couldn’t say anything, we couldn’t speak up. I felt sick. We were fighting for justice, but the defendant can lie. The justice system lets the defendant go. He lied a lot, he invented his story there, guided by the defense. I’ll show you a photo of Leandro, which I had to see again. He was without makeup, with the hole in his forehead, with his eye blackened from the two kicks he received after death, the gunshot wound to the head. The forensic examination showed he didn’t have a scratch. He killed, kicked, went to a brothel, and that’s self-defense? His defense put on a circus, a theater, they are all actors and convinced the jury,” said the mother of the jiu-jitsu legend.

Family asks for justice.

According to Fátima Lo, Henrique's acquittal represented a 'second loss', but despite the adverse outcome, she made a point of thanking her lawyers and the jiu-jitsu community for all the support provided. Dissatisfied with how the trial unfolded, the fighter's mother stated that she will appeal the decision. The Public Prosecutor's Office itself announced that it will do the same.

Leandro Lo's titles

Leandro Ló Pereira do Nascimento is a legend in Jiu-Jitsu. The black belt in the sport was an eight-time world champion and made his mark on the mats. The Brazilian also won five World Cups and eight Pan-American Championships.

See the full statement from Leandro Lo's mother.

 

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A post shared by Fatima Lô (@fatimaloo)