On June 5, 2022, two defenders of the Amazon went missing in the vicinity of the Javari Valley Indigenous Land. They were Bruno Pereira, an Indigenous affairs expert with the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI, in Portuguese), who was then on leave, and Dom Phillips, a British journalist who was in the region to write a book.
Ten days later, the two men’s remains were found in the middle of the forest, with the crucial help of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja, in Portuguese), an organization for which Bruno worked.
Two years on, the Federal Police have indicted three people accused of the crimes, who are due to go before a jury. The trial is expected to take place in the semester of 2025, according to lawyer João Bechara Calmon, a partner at Dieter & Advogados Associados, who represents Beatriz Matos, Bruno's widow.
“No court decision is going to bring back a father back, husband and citizen, especially an extraordinary citizen like Bruno has always been,” the lawyer stressed. He is also an assistant prosecutor for the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF, in Portuguese) in the case.
There is strong evidence, says lawyer
The three men accused of committing the crime, who are currently in prison, are Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, his brother Oseney da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, two of them chased Bruno and Dom by boat and shot the pair dead. They allegedly butchered and burned the bodies before hiding them in the woods.
The lawyer for Bruno's family said there is an extensive body of evidence that corroborates the prosecution's version. "There are expert reports on the bodies, eyewitnesses who saw the boat chase. And, finally, Amarildo's own contribution, who admitted to shooting at the victims,” he said.
Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, known as Colombia, was identified by the Federal Police as the mastermind of the murders. He is in prison for other crimes, but has not yet been brought to justice for the double murder.
The accused are allegedly involved in an illegal fishing scheme in the Javari Valley Indigenous Land. Fisherman Amarildo da Costa confessed to taking part in the killings, but later claimed self-defense.
The presence of an Indigenous expert and a journalist in the region threatened illegal commercial fishing, which is highly profitable in the Amazon.
"According to the testimony of some defense witnesses, the defendant's claim of self-defense is best described as an act of desperation. This desperation was caused by the conflict that Bruno's professional activity could bring to the defendants’ way of life, which, it should be noted, was illicit,” said the assistant prosecutor.
Twice more professionals since Bruno's death
The deaths of Bruno and Dom turned the eyes of the world to the Javari Valley, one of the most preserved areas in the Amazon.
Bruno was dismissed from his post as head of FUNAI by the then Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro. He then decided to work directly with Univaja, the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley.
Univaja has received more attention from international partners since the crimes.
Today, Univaja's territorial monitoring team, which was headed by Bruno, has doubled from 20 to 40 people. This is a legacy of the Indigenous activist who died trying to defend the forest.
“Bruno fought like one of us,” said Univaja president Bushe Matis.
"He came to organize and show us that we could protect our territory with the help of technology and by collaborating with the authorities. Because if we wait for help from outside, it won't work,” added the Matis leader.
Another side
Brasil de Fato contacted Eduardo Rodrigues, Colombia’s lawyer, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the deaths of Bruno and Dom. Rodrigues agreed to give an interview but then did not respond anymore. The lawyers of the other defendants could not be reached. In case of a response, this news story will be updated.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
