Front Line is deeply concerned following an assassination attempt made against the human rights defender Joao Tancredo. Joao Tancredo is the President of the Institute of Human Rights Defenders and ex-president of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association.

Further Information

Posted 24/01/2008 On 19 January 2008, Joao Tancredo was returning from a meeting with residents of the favela of Furquim Mendes in Vigario Geral, Rio de Janeiro, when his car was shot at four times by two unidentified men in helmets on a motorcycle. Joao Tancredo had just attended a meeting with residents of the favela, where he was listening to testimonies about killings that have allegedly been carried out by a state policeman known as the ‘Predator”

Joao Tancredo has received threats in the past, and due to these threats, his car was bullet proofed to protect his safety. It is believed that due to the fact that his car was bullet proofed, Joao Tancredo was not killed in this incident.

Joao Tancredo was reportedly removed from his position as President of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association, due to his outspoken criticism of a police operation where 22 people were killed, in the Alemao Complex, in June 2007.

Front Line believes that Joao Tancredo was targeted as a result of his legitimate human rights activities. Concern is expressed for his physical and psychological integrity, as well as that of all members of the Institute of Human Rights Defenders.