Where things stand — September 2026
Shane and Yube, two young Huni Kuin men from the Brazilian Amazon, have been unable to leave Armenia since July 2025. On arrival at Yerevan airport, shuru (marijuana), which they carried for personal, cultural, spiritual and medicinal use with a medical prescription, was found in their luggage, and a legal process began. On 21 July 2026 they were acquitted at trial.
On 31 August we learned the prosecutor has appealed. Until the Court of Appeal decides, expected to take three to six months, they must stay.
We remain fully mobilized. Their Armenian lawyers, the same team that won the acquittal, are now defending it. The legal fees for the appeal came to just over €7,000, and we were able to meet the court's deadline thanks to gifts given after the acquittal toward the boys' journey home. Rent, food, transport and interpretation in Yerevan continue for as long as the appeal takes, we may need to bring their Brazilian lawyer to hearings, and the return to their village still lies ahead.
Until now we kept this campaign close, sharing it only with friends and family. With a long appeal ahead, we are opening it. If you are new here, welcome. Here is the story.
Who Shane and Yube are
Shane and Yube are sons of Ninawa Pai da Mata, a Huni Kuin leader from the Brazilian Amazon. They were born and raised in the forest and only began traveling outside Brazil three years ago. They are young leaders in their village, and they are fathers. Shane has a small child. Yube has a young daughter and a second child. Their families are waiting for them at home.
In July 2025 they arrived in Yerevan carrying shuru — marijuana, as it is known in their tradition — for their own personal, cultural, spiritual and medicinal use, with a medical prescription. There was never any intention to sell or distribute. In Armenia, marijuana is illegal and the matter is treated seriously. They were detained and, after three days, released under conditional freedom, on the condition that they remain in Yerevan and report to the authorities every week until the process is complete.
That was more than a year ago. They cannot work. They don't speak the language, and they in a society and culture foreign to them. In July 2026 the judge found them not guilty. Now the prosecutor has appealed, and they must wait again, through potentially a second winter, in a system and a country very far from their own.
What the funds cover
Since July 2025, friends and family have covered everything the boys have needed, and they have never gone without. That continues for as long as the appeal takes:
- rent and food in Yerevan
- transportation
- essential items and winter clothing
- accompaniment and translation for their weekly check-ins with the Armenian authorities
- support for their wives and children back home in the village
- lawyers' fees for the appeal
- travel for their Brazilian lawyer to accompany key hearings in Armenia
- interpretation, so they can understand and take part in their own defense
When the paths open for them to come home, we will also need to cover their flights to Brazil and the journey to their village.
Our aim is to keep at least three months of their expenses covered in advance, so they have stability and we are not asking week by week. Any amount helps, monthly or one-time. Every gift goes to whatever the boys and the case need most in that moment.
Who is behind this campaign
Legal team
Dr. Alexandre Giacomo
Dr. Daniel Vilas Boas
Dr. Gustavo Cortês
Dr. Roland Avoyan
Dr. Vladimir Hovhannisyan
Working and organizing group
Camilla Coutinho
Mariana Maia
Tatiana Menezes
Asil Toksal
Scott Murden
Paolo Altruda
We are managing funds on the boys' behalf toward the costs of their stay in Armenia, their legal defense, and their return home. Thank you to everyone walking with us. Despite the difficult circumstances Shane and Yube are in, we are still all together.
With love and gratitude, Haux Haux!
The team working on the case, friends of Ninawa, Shane and Yube
