Radio presenter shot dead while hosting programme

Gleydson Carvalho, a radio presenter who had been denouncing local political corruption for years, was shot dead yesterday by two gunmen as he was hosting his popular programme on Radio Liberdade 90.3 FM in Camocim, a town in the northeastern state of Ceará. One of the two killers, who were armed with pistols, shot Carvalho several times during a musical interlude at 12:40pm and then the two of them left on a motorcycle. Carvalho died a few minutes later while being rushed to hospital. “We condemn this shocking execution-style killing and call on the local and national authorities to identify those responsible and bring them to justice as quickly as possible,” said Emmanuel Colombié, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Americas desk. “Carvalho is the fourth journalist to be gunned down in Brazil since the start of the year, which makes it the western hemisphere’s fourth most dangerous country for media personnel. Yet again, the target was a journalist who took an interest in corruption, a major problem in Brazil.” Carvalho was well known for criticizing the Ceará state government and Brazilian political corruption on his very popular programme. Relatives said he had received many death threats and knew he had made “enemies” as a result of his accusations. Brazil is ranked 99th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.