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, who also blogged and was president of the local chapter of the Workers Party, reported the news site No Minuto.
Filgueira died after being shot six times on June 15 in the city of Serra do Mel in northeast Brazil. According to witnesses, the journalist had received threatening phone calls after publishing on his blog, Jornal da Serra, a survey about the accuracy of the accountability of the local city government.
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.
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.
