Brazilian journalist slain after receiving threats

A Brazilian journalist who ran a local news website in a small city in the country's central Goiás state was shot and killed outside his home after reportedly receiving death threats.

João Miranda do Carmo, 54, was at home in the city of Santo Antônio do Descoberto on July 24 when four individuals in a car stopped outside his home and called for him to come out. When Carmo came outside, they shot him at least six times, according to the International Press Institute, a Vienna-based press freedom group.

Miranda owned and edited a local news website called SAD Sem Censura [Santo Antônio do Descoberto Uncensored]. He had reported on crime and government corruption, including drug trafficking, and was also a member of the Communist Party and was a candidate in local elections this year, media reports said.

#Brazil: Investigate the killing of political journalist João Miranda do Carmo. https://t.co/mbxzxM4d2f pic.twitter.com/Kyc76JIpkS

— PEN Center USA (@penusa) August 1, 2016

Miranda's stepson told local media that the journalist had previously received death threats for his work, and IPI reported that his car had been fire-bombed earlier this year. Rights groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN International and UNESCO have issued calls for a swift investigation into Miranda's killing.

Miranda is the third Brazilian journalist killed this year.  Crime reporter Joao Valdecir de Barba was shot and killed in a radio studio in the southern city of Parana in March. Blogger Manoel Messias Pereira was shot dead in April in the northern state of Maranhao. At least six journalists were killed for their work in Brazil in 2015, according to CPJ, and another two were slain for motives that are as yet unclear.