UPDATE
September 27, 2007
Original case: September 20, 2007
Amaury Ribeiro Jr., Correio Braziliense
ATTACKED
Federal district police arrested four men in Brasilia in connection to Ribeiro’s shooting on September 19. Although one of the detainees confessed to shooting Ribeiro, an investigative reporter for the Brasilia-based daily Correio Braziliense, during an attempted robbery, the reporter said he believed he had been targeted, according to Brazilian news Web sites.
After his arrest alongside three other men on September 27, Daniel Lenno das Neves told Brazilian authorities that he shot Ribeiro in an attempt to rob him, according to Brazilian press reports. Following the confession, police said the attack against Ribeiro was not connected to his work.
However, Ribeiro was quoted in a Correio Braziliense article saying he still believed he had been targeted for his reporting on possible links between drug trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors, and the killings of teenagers in Brasília. The reporter said he had received threats on the days prior to his attack, according to the article.
Ribeiro was shot while investigating a story on organized crime in the outskirts of Brasília. He was taken to a local hospital where he received medical attention. For fear of further retaliations, Ribeiro is on a temporary leave. However, Correio Braziliense assigned a team force to continue his investigation.