 Human rights groups suspect police executions |
The top prison official in Brazil's Sao Paulo state has resigned, two weeks after a wave of violence killed at least 150 people. Nagashi Furukawa said he had left for personal reasons. Media reports said he had clashed with state officials over the handling of the crisis.
The violence, ordered by jailed gang leaders, left 42 police and prison guards dead.
State security officials say police killed 110 people in response.
The officials have provided prosecutors with their names and autopsy reports but have not furnished details of the circumstances of the deaths.
A coalition of lawyers and human rights groups say they will carry out their own inquiry into what happened in the Guarulhos district of Sao Paulo, where the police are reported to have shot at least 24 people in the head.
Human rights activists believe police executed victims in retaliation.
The crime wave was believed to have been ordered by the First Command of the Capital (PCC) gang, whose leaders were angry at planned jail transfers.
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