Francisco Sepúlveda, a 27-year-old Chilean, is living a nightmare in Brazil after being detained last February 25.
During the match between Bahía and O’Higgins in the Copa Libertadores, cameras at Arena Fonte Nova stadium caught him making monkey gestures toward the local players. What began as a vacation with friends ended in pretrial detention for the crime of racism, an offense that the Brazilian justice system punishes very severely.
“My son made a mistake, but he has not harmed anyone”, says his mother, Isabel Vargas, who is organizing raffles and food sales to pay for the defense.
According to her, Francisco is not even a fan of the club; he only went to the stadium by coincidence. Now, the family is awaiting a judicial ruling while warning that “he was moved for safety reasons”.
The young man faces an effective prison sentence abroad for what his mother describes as a simple grimace. Does he deserve it?
