Claims of torture in Blake case

Blake's murder shocked the world and led to a period of national grief in New Zealand

BRASILIA, Brazil -- The Brazilian government says it is investigating claims that four men who said they killed New Zealand yachtsman Peter Blake were tortured into their confession by police.

Blake, 53, was a national hero in New Zealand after he twice won the nation the America's Cup, yachting's greatest prize.

He was shot dead last month by pirates who boarded his boat on the Amazon river in the Brazilian state of Amapa.

Brazilian Justice Secretary Elizabeth Sussekind told reporters that medical tests showed that four of nine men convicted for Blake's murder had been tortured while in police custody.

"We don't know if the accused confessed because they were tortured or if they were tortured after confessing," Sussekind said.

"The case is being investigated."

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Sussekind said that police torture in the South American country remained rife.

"There's a culture of violence, of abuse, of impunity that still exists in some sectors of the police," she said, adding that the government was clamping down on police abuse.

Sussekind blamed the proliferation of torture partly on overcrowding in Brazil's police and prison systems.

Human rights groups have repeatedly attacked Brazil's prison systems, saying that security is poor and inmates are often held in inhumane conditions.

More than 20 prisoners died in the state Rondonia, killed by fellow inmates during a riot in January.