"It's completely unbelievable," said Alex Pereira, a cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes, a 27-year-old electrician shot seven times in the head on a subway train when he was mistaken for a suicide bomber. "You just shoot someone . . . and say that was a mistake."

Pereira said the family is considering challenging the prosecutor's ruling in court.

The shooting at Stockwell in south London on July 22, 2005, angered many Britons and raised questions about police procedures in the war on terror. In particular, critics questioned a police policy of shooting suspected suicide bombers to prevent them detonating their devices.

In a statement the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said it was dismayed by the decision "because it makes it impossible to punish the agents who took part in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes." It said further clarification for the judgment would be sought.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 22, 2006
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