Rosane Santiago Silveira, 59, a fighter for environmental, cultural and human rights causes, was brutally tortured and murdered in southern Bahia, in the city of Nova Viçosa on January 29.

She was found dead inside her house, with her hands and feet tied, cloth around her neck (indicating strangulation). She had been stabbed twice (possibly with a knife), and shot in the head (possibly from behind) . The case was initially treated as a suspected robbery, although valuables, including the victim’s purse, were not taken, and as there were clear indications of torture. Marco Antonio Neves, who heads the investigation, changed the hypothesis to torture and murder.

Rosane, affectionately known by Rô Conceição, had lived for 18 years in Nova Viçosa, where she had been struggling to create an association to protect the environment on the island of Barra Velha, threatened by oil exploration and where she had campaigned against the activities of local and regional councils. She was part of the Cassurubá Extractivist Reserve Board.

Rô was born in Vitória in 1960, having spent most of his life in Belo Horizonte, where she had three children. She had taken part in the land occupation in Borges da Costa, cultural and human rights  movements and trade union activities.

She was the creator of the canteen in the Institute of Biological Sciences of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), where she had helped to promote artistic events, conscious food production and a created meeting point for generations of friends and activists. She was buried on the 31st, at Bosque da Esperança in Belo Horizonte (MG).