After days of searching for a missing British journalist and an indigenous expert who was also missing in the Brazilian rainforest, there are growing signs of an act of violence: the remains discovered in the Amazon region were attributed to Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, as did the Police. Federal announced on Saturday. Additional investigations should provide information on the cause of death.
The men disappeared while traveling to Vale do Javari in western Brazil. Both were shot, according to the Federal Police. Phillips was shot in the chest and abdomen with hunting ammunition, and Pereira was shot in the torso and head. The two men disappeared on a trip to the border area with Peru and Colombia.
Then two suspects were arrested. One admitted involvement in the murder of the two men and led police to the human remains. According to the first results of the investigation, the alleged killers probably acted on their own. “Investigations indicate that the perpetrators acted alone and that no client or criminal organization was behind the crime,” the Federal Police said.
In Brazil for a long time
A third suspect turned himself in to authorities in Atalaia do Norte, in the Amazon region, on Saturday. The man is being questioned and brought before the magistrate, the Federal Police said. According to the investigation, the suspect was directly involved in the double homicide and participated in the attack and the concealment of the bodies, police officer Alex Perez Timóteo told TV Globo.
“We are heartbroken to have confirmation that Dom and Bruno were murdered,” Phillips’ family said in a joint UK statement. “We thank everyone who participated in the search, especially the indigenous groups who are relentlessly searching for evidence of the attack.”
Phillips has lived in Brazil for a long time and was married to a Brazilian woman. As a freelance journalist, he has written for the British newspapers “The Guardian” and “The Financial Times”, as well as the American newspapers “Washington Post” and “The New York Times”.
More recently, he researched a book about the protection of the Amazon region, the strong economic interests in its exploration and different models of development. The motive for the alleged murder was not initially clear. Among other things, investigators check whether the crime is related to illegal fishing or drug trafficking.
The Indigenous Association of Vale do Javari lamented the “inestimable loss” of “two members”. It was mainly the indigenous people of the region who led the search for the disappeared from the beginning. Brazil’s right-wing populist president Jair Bolsonaro, on the other hand, initially blamed the men. He said Phillips was “badly regarded in the region” and should “take more care of himself”.
Illegal activities recorded
Phillips and Pereira did not arrive by boat in the town of Atalaia do Norte on June 5 as planned, according to a regional Aboriginal organization. Pereira had already reported to the police that he had been threatened several times. He had registered illegal activities in Vale do Javari for the authorities.
The indigenous association Apib said it had repeatedly alerted authorities to the activities of criminal groups in the region. “The cruelty of the crime shows that Pereira and Phillips got in the way of a powerful criminal organization that was desperate to cover its tracks,” Apib said in a statement.
With an area slightly larger than Austria, the region is one of the largest indigenous areas in Brazil. Many indigenous people live in isolation there. The border area with Peru and Colombia is particularly contentious due to illegal gold prospecting, deforestation, illegal hunting and fishing, as well as drug smuggling. According to the non-governmental organization Global Witness, Brazil was the fourth most dangerous country for environmentalists in 2020 – 20 conservationists and environmental activists were killed there.
“The deaths of Dom and Bruno are a tragic reminder of how deadly the fight for land rights and indigenous communities can be, particularly in Brazil, which is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for land and environmental defenders,” said the statement. World Witness. “You were heroic in your work to protect the Amazon, its people and the lungs of our planet. Brazilian authorities must investigate their deaths and bring justice to their families.” (apa)