This document details Amnesty International’s concern about the killings in late 1990 of members of the Truka and Atikum indigenous communities in Pernambuco State and about evidence suggesting official complicity or even involvement in these crimes. The killings fit a pattern of assaults and killings of leaders of rural and indigenous communities. The cases cited here are: the killing of Antonio Gilvan da Cruz, a member of the Truka community on the island of Nossa Senhora da Assuncao, who was abducted and subsequently tortured and killed; the killing of Abdon Leonardo da Silva, cacique (chief) of the Atikum Indians in the municipality of Floresta, with his brother Abdias Joao da Silva. AI is also concerned about the apparent lack of effective investigation of these crimes
