Rio de Janeiro –
The disappearance of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon jungle about two weeks ago sparked international outcry. Latest, police Brazil said both died as victims of a shooting.
A day after investigators identified remains found buried in remote parts of the Amazon such as those found at Phillips, local police officials said the second remains belonged to Pereira.
Authorities said the two men were victims of the shooting. Phillips was hit with one shot in the chest, while Pereira had three shots, one in the head–with ammunition normally used for hunting. Pereira, an indigenous rights defender, is said to have received several death threats.
The two men went missing on June 5 in a remote part of the rainforest rife with illegal mining, fishing and logging, and the drug trade.
Ten days later, a suspect took police to a site near the town of Atalaia do Norte in the western Amazon state, where he said he had buried the bodies. Soon after, the suspect’s brother was also detained.
On Saturday (18/6), police said an additional suspect in the case was Jefferson da Silva Lima, also known as ‘Pelado da Dinha’. He has turned himself in to the police station in Atalaia do Norte.
Commissioner Alex Perez Timoteo told news website G1 that the evidence and testimony gathered so far indicate that the suspect was at the crime scene and actively participated in the double murder that took place.
On Friday, police believed the perpetrators had acted alone, with no intellectual actors or criminal organizations behind the crime.
Activists blame the killing on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for allowing the commercial exploitation of the Amazon at the expense of the environment and law and order. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has sought to blame the people themselves for traveling ‘recklessly’ in an area where Phillips is out of favor.
(fas/fas)
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