Oct. 30 (UPI) -- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed a new law that increases penalties and expands enforcement tools to combat organized crime in Brazil amid growing concern over violence in states such as Rio de Janeiro.
The measure, published Thursday in the Diário Oficial, imposes harsher penalties on those who obstruct investigations or collaborate with criminal organizations and provides greater protection for judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers involved in such operations.
The legislation, which amends the Penal Code and the 2013 Law on Criminal Organizations, sets prison terms of up to 12 years for anyone who interferes with judicial proceedings or intimidates authorities. It also requires those convicted of these crimes to serve their sentences in federal maximum-security prisons.
The Brazilian government says the law strengthens the state's ability to confront factions such as Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, which are responsible for much of the country's urban violence.
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