Four days after the discovery of two corpses tied to a tree in the Javarí Valley region, a remote region in the far west of Brazil’s Amazonas state, the remains of British Guardian journalist Dom Philipps have been formally identified by local experts. He disappeared on June 5, while returning from a four-day reporting trip alongside Bruno Pereira, a renowned Brazilian anthropologist, also presumed deceased.
“This confirmation was possible thanks to an odontological examination” of the samples which were analyzed in a laboratory in Brasilia, the Federal Police said in a press release. “Comprehensive identification work continues, to better understand the cause of death, the dynamics of the crime and the concealment of the corpses,” she added.
Washington demands accountability
Earlier in the week, several objects belonging to the two men had been found during a search in the Javarí Valley. “A health card, black pants, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Bruno Pereira, and a pair of boots and a backpack belonging to Dom Phillips and containing personal clothing”, detailed the federal police of the state of Amazonas.
The United States urged on Friday that responsibilities be established in the double murder, saluting at the same time the defenders of the rainforest. “We call for accountability and justice. We must collectively step up our efforts to protect environmental defenders and journalists,” he said on Twitter.
A 41-year-old suspect
The police responsible for elucidating the deaths of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira said Friday that this double murder had “no sponsor” from a “criminal organization”, a version disputed by an association of indigenous peoples. They claim that Bruno Pereira was frequently threatened for his fight against encroachment on indigenous lands. “There are not just two killers, but an organized group that planned the crime down to the smallest detail,” Univaja said in a statement.
VIDEO. Disappeared from the Amazon: two bodies tied to a tree and journalist’s belongings found
They were last seen on June 5, in the locality of Sao Gabriel, not far from their destination, the city of Atalaia do Norte. On Tuesday, Jair Bolsonaro had described the two men’s expedition as “an unrecommended adventure”. “It may be an accident, they may have been executed,” he said.
A 41-year-old man, described as a “suspect”, was taken into custody and traces of blood on his boat were also being analyzed. 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.