Whistleblower investigating Ecuadorian president’s family business was murdered, activists say

A post-mortem has found Monika Silva Koniuszek’s cause of death was a blow to the head and strangulation. Photograph: Facebook View image in fullscreen A post-mortem has found Monika Silva Koniuszek’s cause of death was a blow to the head and strangulation. Photograph: Facebook Whistleblower investigating Ecuadorian president’s family business was murdered, activists say Monika Silva Koniuszek died from a blow to the head and strangulation, a postmortem found, despite government claim of suicide Campaigners in Ecuador say a Polish anti-corruption activist who investigated allegations against the family business of the country’s rightwing president was murdered to silence her. Monika Silva Koniuszek, 41, was found dead in her home in Montañita, a coastal town in Ecuador’s Santa Elena province. The single mother of daughters aged four and nine, was found on the floor with a noose around her neck on 8 June. A day after her death, and before autopsy results had been released, Ecuador’s interior minister John Reimberg said that the initial hypothesis was that it was a suicide: “The necessary evidence to reach that conclusion was found at the scene,” he told local media . However, on Friday, a postmortem in Guayaquil found that the cause of death was a blow to the head and strangulation. View image in fullscreen The Polish activist had been speaking out against land grabbing and environmental damage. Photograph: Gerardo Menoscal/AFP/Getty Images “Based on the forensic reports, we are certain that this was a violent death; therefore, the alleged suggestion that it was a suicide falls apart,” said attorney Lita Martínez, director of the Ecuadorian Centre for the Promotion and Action of Women. Silva Koniuszek had spent the last decade denouncing environmental crimes and corruption on social media, and working with local journalists. She stated in her social media profiles: “You don’t need to be born in Ecuador to love it and defend what is right.” “Monika was the bravest person I have ever met,” said Beth Pitts, 47, a British author and fellow activist who collaborated with her in local campaigns. “She was often a lone voice, publicly and vociferously denouncing corruption and environmental crimes when everyone else was too afraid to speak out,” said Pitts, who has lived in Ecuador for 13 years and lived near Silva Koniuszek in a neighbouring village. “Beyond her activism, she was a dedicated single mother and a wonderful friend. Even when she was receiving death threats, she would still take the time to ask how I was doing and offer her support,” she added. View image in fullscreen Monika Silva Koniuszek was a single mother to two daughters aged four and nine. Photograph: Facebook Colleagues say Silva Koniuszek had begun to investigate Noboa Trading, the fruit conglomerate belonging to the family of the rightwing president, Daniel Noboa. They said she had been pursuing allegations that several tonnes of cocaine had been seized in Noboa Trading banana con