The murder in June in the Amazon of British journalist Dom Phillips and expert on indigenous peoples Bruno Pereira was motivated by a photograph. The latter had asked to take a snapshot of the killers’ boat, the Brazilian prosecutor’s office announced on Friday.
“What motivated the murders was the fact that Bruno asked Dom to photograph the boat of the accused, which was evaluated by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) as a futile motive and may increase the sentence,” explained the prosecution. in a press release.
A trio accused of double murder
The prosecution made this clarification in the context of a complaint filed on Thursday against the two suspects who confessed to the murder, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, and against Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, brother of the former and suspect of have participated in the crime.
The trio was accused of the double murder and concealment of bodies in a court in Tabatinga, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, on the border with Peru and Colombia.
“Bruno was killed with three bullets, one of them in the back, without the possibility of a defense, which also qualifies the crime. Dom was killed simply because he was with Bruno, to ensure impunity for the previous crime,” the MPF said. .
The police had privileged illegal fishing in protected territory as the main hypothesis, an activity that Bruno Pereira was fighting, which could have motivated the assassination. According to the Public Ministry, there were disputes between Bruno Pereira and Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, known as Pelado, because the latter was linked to this illegal practice in indigenous territory.
A book in preparation on the preservation of the environment
Dom Phillips, 57, longtime newspaper contributor The Guardian, and Bruno Pereira, 41, a renowned expert on indigenous peoples, were in the Amazon as part of the preparation of a book on the preservation of the environment. They were shot to death on June 5 while returning from an expedition in the Javari Valley, an isolated area in the state of Amazonas plagued by numerous traffickers.
Responsible for years of the support program for isolated tribes of Funai, the Brazilian government agency for indigenous affairs, Bruno Pereira worked on a project to help indigenous people denounce invasions of their lands. He had received death threats for his action.
Source: BFM TV
