Brazil: death threats: Bishop Pedro Casaldaliga

Bishop Casaldaliga, from the diocese of Sao Felix do Araguaia, Mato Grosso state, has been advised by an anonymous person that local landowners have contracted a gunman to kill him in revenge for his defence of the land rights of the Xavante indigenous people of the region. Bishop Casaldaliga is internationally known for his work on behalf of the poor in the Amazon. These threats follow a decision in September 1993 by the Brazilian Minister of Justice to return some land owned by an Italian oil company to the Xavantes. Bishop Casaldaliga had supported their claim to the land. His church has been daubed with paint, and rumours have begun to circulate about his impending assassination.

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