São Paulo Woman Accused of Selling Animal Torture Videos Released After Brief Detention

Overview

• Police arrested Daiana Schuinsekel de Almeida at her Bela Vista apartment on Thursday after a Bulgarian NGO sent videos to Brazil’s Federal Police that were passed to São Paulo investigators.
• Officers seized shoes shown in the footage and say they identified her by a tattoo and marks on her legs, but she was freed hours later because authorities could not access her phones at the scene.
• In a police deposition she said the videos were made in 2020–2021 for sexual arousal, expressed regret, and supplied passwords for her phones and computers to help investigators.
• Authorities say the footage depicts rabbits, chicks and cats crushed by hand or foot and was sold in closed online communities to European buyers for about 20 to 50 euros per video.
• The police have widened the probe to forensically analyze seized devices and to determine whether a wider network in São Paulo or Brazil commercialized and distributed the zoosadistic material.