Curitiba, Brazil, Feb 21, 2022 / 18:00 pm
Renato Freitas, a city councilman for Curitiba who led a protest interrupting Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary church in the city, has asked for a leave of absence, citing health problems.
The request was made Feb. 16, accompanied by a medical certificate that doesn’t state the cause for his request. The city council says that Freitas has received death threats.
ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese language sister news agency, asked for specifics on the death threats, if they were reported to the police, and what health problems the councilman has, but no response was received by press time.
“The councilman has been subject to constant and increasingly violent threats, including death threats and racial slurs, which is why he needed a respite to recuperate from so much violence,” says a statement from an advisor.