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SAO PAULO (AP) — A radio journalist known for denouncing drug traffickers and organized crime groups was murdered in northeastern Brazil, police said Wednesday.
Three men armed with machine guns and pistols killed Djalma Santos da Conceicao Saturday night in the small town of Conceicao da Feira in the state of Bahia, police inspector Gustavo Coutinho said by telephone
He said the gunmen barged into a small bar where the journalist was taking part in a party and "abducted, tortured and murdered" him before dumping his body in a rural zone outside the town.
He was the second Brazilian journalist killed in less than one week.
The decapitated body of Evany Jose Metzkera, a blogger known for denouncing corrupt politicians, was found May 18 in a rural area in southeastern Minas Gerais state.
"The brutal murders of two Brazilian journalists in less than a week represents a troubling escalation of anti-press violence in Brazil, already one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist," said Sara Rafsky, Americas Program research associate of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, in an emailed statement.
Last week, Carlos Lauria, the committee's senior Americas Program coordinator said that at least 14 Brazilian journalists have been killed since 2011 "in retaliation for their work."
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