By Adriana Prado
The founder and editor of Pura Política, João Andrade Neto, was arrested and accused of demanding money from business people in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia in exchange for not publishing allegations against them, Correio reports. He is being held on charges of extortion and attempted extortion.
This is the third time in the last year that Andrade Neto has run afoul of the law. Last August, the editor was arrested with $3,000 in marked bills, and one month earlier he was caught in a police sting set up by a businessman who alleged Andrade Neto tried to extort him for $18,000, Bahia Notícias explains.
According to Correiro, he has allegedly tried to extort six other people, asking for as much as $50,000.
The Pura Política home page has been replaced by a message saying the site has been shut down: “This decision [to shut down the site] was motivated by the extreme persecution that João and his family have suffered, and also due to the major health problems João has faced.”
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
