Bahia revises protection program after murder of Mãe Bernadete
The state government of Bahia is reviewing all protocols for the protection of human rights activists following the murder of Maria Bernadete Pacífico, also known as Mãe Bernadete. The Candomblé priestess and quilombo leader was killed last Thursday (Aug. 17) inside her home in the Pitanga dos Palmares quilombo, in the municipality of Simões Filho.According to the northeastern state’s Secretary of Justice and Human Rights Felipe Freitas, teams from the state government and the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship are working to improve protection efforts alongside public security agencies.“The death of a human rights advocate is a tragedy—even more so considering she’d been facing threats. The federal government and the government of Bahia are obviously revising all protection prot...