A demonstration of support honoring journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian expert on indigenous peoples Bruno Pereira in Sao Polo, Brazil June 18, 2022. ANDRE PENNER/AP
Brazilian police confirmed on Saturday (June 18) that Brazilian expert on indigenous peoples Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips, whose remains were found in a remote area of the Amazon, were killed by “guns”.
Mr Pereira’s remains “are among those” found by investigators, Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) also said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, she said the first human remains discovered Wednesday at the tip of a suspect were those of Dom Phillips. Mr Pereira was shot three times, including one in the head, and Mr Phillips was shot in the chest, federal police said.
They were last seen on June 5 boarding a boat to Atalaia do Norte (northwest) in the Javari Valley, an area known to be dangerous and frequented by drug traffickers, fishing or illegal gold mining.
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Mr Phillips, 57, a longtime contributor to The Guardian newspaper, and Mr Pereira, 41, a recognized expert on tribal peoples, were in the Amazon as part of writing a book on protecting the environment.
A third suspect in these killings went to the Atalaia do Norte police station in Amazonas state (west) on Saturday morning, the PF also said. The man was known as an “outlaw,” she added. According to all the evidence and testimonies collected, the latter “was at the scene and actively participated in the double murder,” police commissioner Alex Perez Timóteo told news site G1.
A first suspect was arrested on June 7: a 41-year-old fisherman who admitted Tuesday burying the bodies. A second suspect was arrested on Tuesday. According to local media, police are looking for a fourth suspect, information that has not been officially confirmed.
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The double killing has sparked outrage around the world, with sharp criticism of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of promoting deforestation and encouraging resource exploitation in the Amazon since he took office in 2019.