Brazil investigating killings of 3 rural activists
Mar 26, 8:19 PM EDT
Brazil investigating killings of 3 rural activists
By BRADLEY BROOKS
Associated Press
SAO PAULO (AP) -- Brazilian police are investigating whether the fatal shooting of three rural activists was tied to their effort to win rights to land also contested by owners of a sugar mill, officials said Monday.
Investigator Samuel Barreto told reporters in Minas Gerais state there was no doubt the three activists were executed, shot down as they got out of a car near a landless workers camp Saturday.
A 5-year-old girl, the granddaughter of two of those slain, survived the attack. No suspects are in custody, a police spokesman said.
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Watchdog groups said police were questioning land activists about the possibility the killings could have resulted from an internal conflict within their movement. The groups rejected that idea. They accused landowners of paying hired gunmen to shoot the activists.
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