'The jury's decison means that attributing the failures of Brazil's policing system to the misdemeanours of individual policemen is no longer acceptable,' the organisation added.

'Those in high command must be made accountable for their chain-of-command responsibilities, and the human rights violations perpetrated by police acting with no respect for the rights of the most marginalised sectors of society.'

Amnesty International hopes this ruling will point the way in other massacre trials where similar evidence indicates the responsibility of police officers in charge.

'It is now time for those in political office to be made to answer for their staggering complacency about serious violations occurring under their authority,' the organisation added. 'They must account for their continued inability to produce a professionally trained police force which respects the rights of all Brazilians, including the marginalised, the poor and those in detention,' the organisation added.