25 May 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva, an outspoken opponent of illegal burning and logging in the Amazon rainforest, has been shot dead in an ambush near their his home in Nova Ipixuna, in Pará state, about 37 miles from Marabá, Brazil. His wife was also killed in the attack.
Da Silva had received frequent death threats from rainforest loggers. He confessed in a public conference in November that he feared for his life. A 2008 report compiled by Brazilian human rights activists also listed Da Silva as one of those “considered at risk” for assassination. But the couple had allegedly not asked for any police protection. Authorities are now investigating whether the killing was an assassination.
11 Mar 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Sao Paolo police have recaptured Wilson de Moraes da Silva, who was convicted of the murder of journalist Ivandel Godinho Junior. The reporter was kidnapped in 2003, and killed three days later. Silva had served three years of his 36 year sentence when he was transferred to a prison with restricted release privileges. He failed to return to the prison after his release for Father’s Day in 2008.
26 Oct 10 | Index Index, minipost
A veteran investigative journalist has been killed in the city of Caico. Francisco Gomes de Medeiros was shot five times outside his house last Monday. One line of police enquiry is focusing on reports the murder could be linked to Medeiros’ investigation of state assembly candidates running a crack-for-votes scheme in the 3 October general election. However a former prison inmate, Joao Francisco dos Santos, has been arrested he claimed to have committed the murder. This is the second high-profile media killing this month following 16 October murder of the owner of a small Sao Paulo newspaper.
17 Aug 10 | Index Index, minipost
Brazil has banned broadcasters from showing programmes that poke fun at the country’s presidential candidates. Ridiculing the candidates could result in a fine or even licence suspension. Brazilian producers and comedians intend to fight the ban, with one comparing it to a Monty Python sketch. It is not the first time that politics and comedy have collided in Latin America. In July, a Nicaraguan comic revealed he was offered money not to ridicule presidential candidate Daniel Ortega in his performances.
