Five suspects have been arrested in the politically-motivated killing of Brazilian blogger, Ednaldo Figuiera.
In June, Figuiera became the first blogger to be assassinated. Figuiera, who was also a newspaper editor and the president of the local branch of the Workers Party, used his blog to discuss drug-related corruption in his home state of Rio Grande do Norte.
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According to Natalia Mazotte of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, on their Journalism in the Americas blog:
“In a joint operation, federal and civil police from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte arrested on July 2 and 3 five suspects accused of killing community journalist Ednaldo Filgueira…An official in charge of criminal investigations, Odilon Teodósio, said that the motive for the killing is linked to Filgueira’s journalistic activities. The police investigation into the journalist’s killing will remain ongoing until the mastermind behind the crime is identified, reported Correio do Brasil.”
Rifles and revolvers were also seized, according to nominuto.com. The name of only one suspect was released, Rafânio Brito de Azevedo.
Figuiera had blogged about a survey on the “accuracy of the accountability of the local city government.” Shortly thereafter, he began to receive death threats.
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