Amnesty International reports a “huge increase” in the number of people killed by police in Rio de Janeiro in the run up to the Summer Games.
According to new figures from Brazil’s Public Security Institute, in the city of Rio alone 40 people were killed by on-duty police officers in May: an increase of 135% on the same period last year, when 17 were people killed by police. Across Rio state as a whole, police killings almost doubled, from 44 to 84.
The 2016 Olympics are shaping up to be quite the trainwreck: a government meltdown, a doping scandal that may see Russia’s entire team banned, and a public health crisis likely to convince many athletes, media and tourists to stay away.