The story of the bones

When Edson Teles was four years old, he was kidnapped from his home in the city of São Paulo, along with his older sister, Janaína de Almeida Teles. They were taken by soldiers to the Information Operations Detachment – Internal Defense Operations Center (DOI-CODI) – a centre for torture under Brazil’s brutal military dictatorship.

It was 1972 and their family had been targeted for being members of the Communist Party of Brazil and for their work in the clandestine anti-regime press. At DOI-CODI, Edson and Janaína were forced to watch their parents being tortured.

Brazil’s military dictatorship ruled from 1964 to 1985. During this time, thousands of people were tortured or forced into exile, hundreds were killed and many of them were buried in mass graves. Some were members of urban and rural guerrilla groups fighting against the dictatorship, receiving training and support from Cuba and the USSR. Others