Authorities have announced that “human remains” were found during the search for British journalist Dom Phillips and expert Bruno Pereira, who had been missing for more than ten days.
A suspect arrested after British journalist Dom Phillips and expert Bruno Pereira disappeared ten days ago in the Amazon has admitted burying their bodies, and “human remains” were found at the search site, the Brazilian Federal Police announced on Wednesday.
Read alsoWhat we know about the mysterious disappearance of a journalist and an expert in the Amazon
“Last night we obtained a confession from the first of the two arrested suspects (…) who recounted in detail how the crime was committed and told us where the bodies were buried”explained in a press conference the head of the Federal Police of the State of Amazonas, Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, who indicated that the suspect had admitted to having participated in the “crime”but without specifying its role. “Excavations have been carried out on site, the excavations will continue, but human remains have already been found”he added. “As soon as we have been able to verify thanks to the expertise that these are indeed the remains of the bodies of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, they will be returned to the families”.
The journalist’s Brazilian wife, Alessandra Sampaio, thanked in a statement “all the teams that carried out the research, in particular the indigenous volunteers” whose absence from the press conference was criticized by many observers. “Even if we are still awaiting final confirmations, this tragic outcome puts an end to the anxiety of not knowing where Dom and Bruno were. Now we can take them home and say goodbye with love.”she said. “Today we also begin our fight for justice… We will only have peace when the necessary measures are taken to ensure that such tragedies do not happen again.”
A few hours before this announcement, the television cameras had filmed one of the two arrested suspects leaving a police station to be taken by boat to the scene of the searches carried out by the police. The first suspect, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, a 41-year-old fisherman nicknamed “Pelado”, was arrested on June 7. Witnesses said they saw him pass at high speed on board a boat going in the same direction as the boat of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, before their disappearance. The second suspect, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, known as “Dos Santos”, was arrested on Tuesday, “suspected of involvement in the case”according to the federal police.
SEE ALSO – Disappeared in the Amazon: human remains found, “difficult to find them alive”, according to Bolsonaro
Strong emotion
President Jair Bolsonaro had already mentioned Monday “viscera floating in water” which would have been found during the search, information not confirmed by the police. On Sunday, the authorities announced that they had found personal effects of the two missing persons. The British journalist and the Brazilian expert were last seen on June 5, during an expedition to the Javari Valley area. This region close to the border with Peru and Colombia is reputed to be very dangerous, there are multiple drug trafficking, fishing or illegal gold panning. It has become in recent years a strategic axis for the gangs of drug traffickers who transport by river cocaine or cannabis produced in neighboring countries of Brazil.
Author of dozens of reports on the Amazon, Dom Phillips, 57, had once again visited the region as part of his research for a book on the preservation of the environment. Bruno Pereira, 41, a recognized expert and defender of the rights of indigenous peoples, worked for many years at the Brazilian government agency for indigenous affairs (Funai). In particular, he directed the Funai branch in Atalaia do Norte, the place where the two men were supposed to go by boat when they disappeared, as well as a program to protect isolated indigenous groups in the Javari Valley.
Read alsoBrazil: disappearance of a British journalist and a Brazilian expert in the Amazon
Father of three, Bruno Pereira has repeatedly recounted being the target of threats by loggers, miners and illegal fishermen who tried to encroach on protected land. Settled in Brazil 15 years ago, Dom Phillips was married to a Brazilian and had taken steps to adopt a child. Their disappearance has sparked outrage around the world, with reactions from high-profile politicians and celebrities like members of Irish rock band U2.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who favors the mining and farming of indigenous reserves in the Amazon, has been heavily criticized for calling the two men’s expedition a“unsavory adventure”. On Wednesday he claimed that Dom Phillips was “frowned upon” in the Amazon because he had written “numerous reports against gold panners, on the environment”. “In this very isolated area, a lot of people didn’t like him. He should have redoubled his precautions (…) Over there, there are pirates on the river, it is imprudent to survey the place without being armed»he added, during an interview with the Youtube channel of journalist Leda Nagle.
“It’s very sad”reacted the former left-wing president Lula da Silva (2003-2011), presidential candidate of 2022, to the announcement of the Federal Police. “People who died defending indigenous lands and the environment. Brazil can’t be that.”he wrote on Twitter.
SEE ALSO – Police rule out ‘no leads’ after two men go missing in the Amazon