RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Brazil's president called for the military retract previous statements about a tortured journalist and apologize, Estado de Sao Paulo reports.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva lambasted military leaders for their official reaction to photos published earlier this week in several Brazilian newspapers of Vadimir Herzog, who in October 1975 -- during Brazil's military dictatorship -- was kidnapped and then killed.
At the time, officials said Herzog -- shown with his head in his hands sitting on a bed naked -- committed suicide while in captivity.
The military originally insinuated Herzog was part of "a subversive movement that intended to overthrow the military government" and that the Army was "obeying popular opinion" at the time of his capture.
The new statement, approved personally by Lula, apologizes for Herzog's handling at the time and says the handling of the subject was "absurd and inappropriate."
A former union leader during the military regime, Lula spent time in prison after orchestrating a workers' strike.
