Brazilian indigenous leaders subpoenaed for criticizing government

FILE PHOTO: Indigenous people of several ethnic groups protest calling for the demarcation of their lands and the resignation of the Minister of Environment, Ricardo Salles, in Brasilia, Brazil, April 20, 2021. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's indigenous affairs agency Funai has called on a top indigenous leader to explain her criticism of the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro and the impact its handling of the COVID-19 crisis has had on native people.

Federal police have subpoenaed Sonia Guajajara, head of Brazil's largest indigenous umbrella organization APIB, to testify on her statements at the request of Funai, which was set up in 1967 to defend the interests of indigenous people.