The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is calling on Brazilian authorities to "thoroughly" investigate the killing of a radio journalist in the Amazonian city of Tabatinga, located in the triple-frontier between Brazil, Colombia and Perú.
Valderlei Canuto Leandro (also called), 32 years old, directed the program "Sinal Verde" ("Green Light"), broadcast on the bilingual Spanish-Portuguese station Radio Frontera, located on the Peruvian side of the border. The night of Sept. 1, the journalist died after being shot eight times by two men on a motorcycle, according to the news site Amazonas Em Tempo.
Reporters Without Borders said it was concerned about "apparent foot-dragging" in the investigation into the journalist's killing.
According to Blog Da Floresta, in May the journalist said he had been threatened by the mayor of Tabatinga, Saul Beneguy, who denies the allegations.
Leandro was known for denouncing irregularities in the local city government and he had been threatened on several occasions, explained Blog Da Floresta.
Following the killing of Leandro, CPJ highlighted the recent increase in violence against journalists in Brazil. So far this year, four other journalists have been killed and one blogger survived an assassination attempt in Río de Janeiro.
