Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent to southern Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launched a raid on the Ksar Zaatar neighborhood in western Nabatieh.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7

Bolsonaro blamed for Amazon murder

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 16 Jun 2022 22:01
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

After evidence mounted that the British journalists were murdered in the Amazon, all fingers are pointed at President Jair Bolsonaro.

  • x
  • Bolsonaro blamed for Amazon murder.
    Bolsonaro blamed for Amazon murder

Nature activists, colleagues, and the family of British journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira expressed outrage Thursday as evidence mounted that they were murdered in the Amazon, blaming the Brazilian government.

Phillips, 57, and Pereira, 41, went missing on June 5 in a remote area of the rainforest known for illegal mining, fishing, and logging, as well as drug trafficking.

Ten days later, on Wednesday, a suspect named Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira led police to a location where he claimed to have assisted in the burial of bodies near the city of Atalaia do Norte, where the pair had planned to stop.

Human remains discovered at the site were to be transported to Brazilia on Thursday and officially identified by experts. The results should be available by next week.

Read next: Amazon fisherman confesses to killing missing pair

Late Wednesday, the federal police chief of Brazil's northern Amazonas state said the remains "corresponded" to the missing men with "a 99-percent probability." They had apparently been shot.

Phillips, a long-time contributor to The Guardian and other leading international newspapers, and Pereira were working on a book about sustainable development in the Amazon when they went missing.

Pereira, a FUNAI expert, had received numerous threats from loggers and miners attempting to infiltrate remote Indigenous land.

'Heartbroken' 

The discovery of two bodies on Wednesday, which they interpreted as proof that the pair were murdered, left Phillips' family "heartbroken".

Related News

Bolsonaro’s sentencing ignites mass celebrations in Brazil

Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup plot

According to Greenpeace Brazil, the deaths were "a direct result of President Jair Bolsonaro's agenda for the Amazon, which opens the way for predatory activities and crimes to be replicated in broad daylight."

The Javari Valley, where the men went missing, is home to about 20 isolated Indigenous groups, as well as drug traffickers, loggers, miners, and illegal fishermen.

"In the last three years, our country has increasingly become a land where the only valid law is that of 'anything goes'," said Greenpeace of the Bolsonaro term.

Read next: Fears around UK journalist, indigenous expert missing in Amazon

"It has become a land of invasion and land grabbing; of mining and illegal logging; of territorial conflicts, and where it’s worth killing to ensure that none of these criminal activities are prevented from happening. All this is fueled by the actions and omissions of the Brazilian government." 

Bolsonaro has advocated for the development of the Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, since taking office in 2019. He drew new criticism on Wednesday for saying Phillips' reporting on the region was "disliked" and that he should have been more cautious.

"The level of violence applied to Bruno and Dom makes clear how the Amazon is at the mercy of the law of the most powerful, under which brutality is the rule," said WWF Brazil.

"The State abandoned the Amazon due to a meaningless project of destruction of the forest and extermination of its peoples."

 'Political crime' 

The Univaja Indigenous Peoples group, which was involved in the search, called the suspected killings a "political crime", while the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism stated that "the president and his allies have become protagonists of attacks on the press" in order to expose environmental crimes.

Jonathan Watts, Phillips' colleague at The Guardian, told AFP in London that the "monstrous" crime should not deter journalists and others from seeking the truth.

"People dead for defending Indigenous lands and the environment. Brazil cannot be that," said ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will face Bolsonaro in the October elections.

The investigation into the motive for the crime, as well as the roles played by Oliveira and fellow suspect Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, is still ongoing.

According to Brazilian media, three more people may be involved. The information has not been confirmed by police, but more arrests are not ruled out.

  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Brazil
  • Amazon

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters during the inauguration of a monument in China's honor on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Politics

Netanyahu informed Trump before deadly attack in Doha: Reports

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a joint press conference at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Monday, September 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu warns of Israeli isolation, calls to boost self-reliance

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide
Politics

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS