A Brazilian journalist injured while reporting on violent clashes with protesters in Rio has been declared brain dead, highlighting concerns about security just four months ahead of the World Cup.
Television news cameraman Santiago Ilidio Andrade, 49, was left in a coma after being struck on the head by a flare during protests against bus fare increases last Thursday.
Rio de Janeiro's public health office said on Monday that neurosurgeons at Souza Aguiar municipal hospital had declared the married father-of-one brain dead.
"My husband is gone. They have destroyed a solid family," Andrade's heartbroken wife told the Globo television channel in an interview.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said she was "outraged and saddened" at news of Andrade's death.
"It is unacceptable that democratic protests are taken over by those who have no respect for human lives," Rousseff said on Twitter.
Rousseff said Brazil's federal police force was ready to assist the investigation into Andrade's death if required.
Both protesters implicated in the flare strike have been arrested.
The first, Fabio Raposo, 22, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter on Sunday after admitting he had picked up the flare and handed it to another protester, who had thrown it.
"It was an act of negligence and irresponsibility," Raposo's lawyer Jonas Nunes Tadeu told CBN radio, but he insisted there was no intent to harm Andrade.
Although Raposo initially said he did not know the second protester, on Monday he gave the name to police, who quickly arrested him.
Monday's announcement prompted an homage from some 30 fellow journalists, who gathered around the spot where Andrade was struck - where a bloodstain marks the pavement - in a silent circle, with their video and still cameras resting on the ground beside them.
Last week's clashes echoed the massive street protests which paralysed Brazil during the FIFA Confederations Cup last June, which left at least five people dead.
Five others were injured in last week's protests, which began as a peaceful demonstration but exploded into violence, with around 1000 people battling riot police who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
There is widespread anger in Brazil over the billions of dollars of public money spent on preparations for the World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics at a time when the country is grappling with poor infrastructure and public services.
The latest violence has renewed concerns about security for the World Cup, which protesters have vowed to target once more.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism said Monday that 117 journalists had been injured since the outbreak of violent social unrest during last year's Confederations Cup.
