A Brazilian court suspended this week under a “habeas corpus” lawsuit against a former Samarco executive, over the death of 19 people due to a dam failure in 2015. Samarco is a 50/50 joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton.
Habeas corpus is a law that states a person cannot be kept in prison unless their case has first been brought before a court of law. As a result, the existing lawsuit filed by public prosecutors against Jose Carlos Martins, the former president of the Samarco board, remains suspended.
Public prosecutors said they would seek all legal applicable measures to revert the decision, according to a media report by Estadao.