updated13. June 2022, 08:39
British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira have been missing in the Brazilian rainforest for over a week. Now personal items have appeared.
The 57-year-old Phillips, who writes regularly for the British “Guardian” as a freelance journalist, and Pereira, an expert on indigenous peoples, had been researching a book on violence against indigenous people in the Javari Valley near the border with Peru.
imago images/ZUMA Wire
Gold miners, poachers and drug gangs are active in the region.
imago images/ZUMA Wire
Brazilian authorities have found personal belongings of missing British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon rainforest. “Items belonging to the missing persons were found: a medical card, black trousers, a black sandal and a pair of boots belonging to Bruno Pereira, as well as a pair of boots and a backpack belonging to Dom Phillips containing personal clothing,” explained the federal police on Sunday.
According to the fire department, the items were found “near the house” of a 41-year-old suspect. Investigators arrested him on Wednesday. According to the police, drugs and cartridges for an assault rifle were found on him during a random check. Witnesses said they saw the man chasing Phillips and Pereira’s boat. Traces of blood were later found in the man’s boat. Authorities then began searching the area around his home.
Philipps researched violence against indigenous people
The 57-year-old Phillips, who regularly wrote for the British Guardian and the Washington Post as a freelance journalist, was working with Pereira, an expert on indigenous peoples, in the Javari Valley near the border with Peru for a book about violence researched against indigenous people. Gold miners, poachers and drug gangs are active in the region.
An investigation into the disappearance of the two men has led to an international network paying poor fishermen for illegal fishing in the Vale do Javari. Companions of the two men said they were threatened at gunpoint by a group of fishermen the day before they disappeared.
The search for the men is not determined enough
According to a regional indigenous organization, Phillips and Pereira did not arrive by boat on June 5 as planned in the city of Atalaia do Norte in western Brazil. Indigenous people, family members, friends and colleagues have expressed concern that the search for the two missing people has been slow and is not being pursued with enough determination. The UN human rights office and numerous celebrities are calling on the Brazilian authorities to step up efforts.
(afp/dpa/chk)