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(queerday) Police in Brazil say Cláudio Alves dos Santos, above, was tortured before he was murdered and they are treating the case as a hate crime. The killing and the subsequent investigation into his murder, which took place in the municipality of Nova Iguaçu (Baixada Fluminense, Rio) is already having repercussions throughout the nation. Dos Santos, 40, had been a member of Disque Defesa Homossexual (DDH) for the past four years, a group fighting homophobia and discrimination in the country. He was also one of the men who identified three gay murder victims at the beginning of the year. According to reports he was last seen on his way home from a party. His body was found three days later.

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