Canuto, 32, a radio journalist who hosted the show “Sinal
Verde” (Green Signal), was shot at least eight times by unidentified assailants
on a motorcycle in the city of Tabatinga, in the state of Amazonas, local press reports said. He had been returning from
a local marketplace a block away from his home, his brother Alderli Canuto told
CPJ.
Canuto was known for his criticism of local authorities,
according to Blog Da
Floresta, a local news blog. In May, Canuto had filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office alleging
that Tabatinga Mayor Samuel Benerguy had threatened him concerning his coverage
of alleged corruption, local press reports said.
In a September 9 article posted on Blog Da Floresta, Benerguy said he had no involvement in Canuto’s killing
and had never threatened the journalist. The mayor told Blog Da Floresta that he was saddened by the Canuto’s death and
wanted the crime to be solved.
Sávio Pinzon, police chief in the state’s capital, Manaus,
told CPJ that authorities were looking into the journalist’s work as a possible
motive.