"An agricultural leader protesting illegal deforestation was shot to death in northern Brazil, the eighth environmentalist farmer to be killed since May in the Amazon, activists said Tuesday."

"Joao Chupel Primo, 55, was killed Saturday 'because he condemned illegal deforestation in Itaituba,' a southwestern region of Para state, Pastoral Land Commission spokesman Gilson Rego told AFP.

'He was receiving death threats and had already been physically abused.'

Para prosecutors asked federal police to grant protection to two other farmers who have protested illegal deforestation before public authorities.

For the CPT, a rights group tied to the Catholic Church, Chuper Primo's murder was closely tied to his protests."

AFP had the story October 25, 2011. [2]