58 human rights activists killed in Brazil so far this year

SAO PAULO – Amnesty International says 58 activists were killed in Brazil during the first eight months of the year, putting 2017 on track to be one of the deadliest years for human rights defenders in the country.

In a report released Tuesday, the rights group says most of the victims were indigenous people, rural landless workers and “other individuals working on issues related to land and the environment.”

Renata Neder, a human rights adviser at Amnesty International, said that figures showed more activists killed in Brazil than any other country in the Americas. She also said the number of victims was increasing every year.

According to the report, about 3,500 human rights activists have been murdered worldwide since the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders in 1998.