BELEM, Brazil, MAY 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A Brazilian rancher was convicted of ordering the killing of Sister Dorothy Stang, an American who had been active in halting deforestation by loggers in the Amazon region.

According to the Associated Press, Vitalmiro Bastos de Moura was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

The judge said he ''showed a violent personality unsuited to living in society,'' because of his involvement in killing the 73-year-old woman religious.

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Sister Dorothy, of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was a naturalized Brazilian, who helped to build schools while working with other activists to defend the rights of impoverished farmers.

She was reading the beatitudes when one of two hired gunmen fired six shots into her at close range on Feb. 12, 2005.

The Associated Press reported that human rights defenders were watching this trial to see if the Brazilian courts would finally begin to convict those behind land-related killings in the Amazon state of Para.

Out of 800 estimated land-related killings, only four masterminds have been convicted in the past 30 years.

During the trial, Moura claimed he was innocent of ordering the killing, maintaining that he didn't know Sister Dorothy.

Code: ZE07051611

Date: 2007-05-16