<p>The Diário FM Radio, from Marília, São Paulo state, was attacked last<br />Thursday, August 27th, during the night. Four men bounded the radio´s<br />security guard with a rope and destroyed the central transmission´s<br />equipment.<br /><br />The group apparently had technical knowledge of the equipment, since<br />they have turned it off before attacking it several times, probably with an<br />axe, showing that they were probably aware of the dangerousness of a 10<br />thousand watts transmission equipment.<br /><br />The radio´s director of journalism, José Ursílio, believes that<br />the authors of the crime were trained to act so. “We believe that this crime<br />was committed by an organization, because the burglars knew how the attack<br />should be and had even technical informations”, says Ursílio. A smaller<br />transmission equipment, used for emergencies, was also destroyed.<br /><br />After the attack, the radio was off for three hours. “At the moment, the<br />radio is working with an extra one-thousand-watt transmission´s equipment.<br />We expect a big loss, since the signs were damaged and must affect<br />our audience and budget in the next months”, says the director.<br /><br />A inquery was opened at the 5º Police District of Marília and the town´s<br />Police Office of General Investigations (DIG) is conducting the<br />investigations. José Ursílio has also made a formal require of investigation<br />at the Federal Police (Brazil´s Interpol).<br /><br />The authors of the crime are still not known and the radio´s director<br />believes that the chances to find them are very slight: “we only believe<br />that it is possible to identify the way the crime was planned, due to<br />its circumstances. It is easier to identify who ordered the crime”, he says.<br /><br />This was the second attack against the Diário FM radio. Four years ago, its<br />building was raided and burned. The authors of the attack, already convicted<br />in court, were, according to the radio, linked with Marília´s former<br />mayor Abelardo Camarinha.<br /><br />At that time, 70% of the newspaper and radios that were settled at the<br />building were destroyed. A security guard was assaulted and robbed. “These<br />attacks means an audaciousness never seen before. More than the attempt to<br />close the radio, they were a stroke against the freedom of the press and the<br />listener´s right of been informed”, comments José Ursílio.</p>