Police in Brazil indict Colombian fish trader in high profile killing in Amazon region
FILE - The relatives of late British journalist Dom Phillips and activists hold banners with his image, left side, and that of Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, with the Portuguese message: “Justice for Dom and Bruno” during the one-year anniversary since their murders, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)
Brazilian police have indicted a Colombian fish trader as the person who planned the slaying of Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon in 2022, they announced Monday.
The statement did not name the accused, but a police officer told the The Associated Press that it is Ruben Dario da Silva Villar and a second source with direct knowledge of the indictment confirmed this. Da Silva Villar is accused of supplying the ammunition used in the crime and assisting in hiding the bodies.
In testimony, he has denied any wrongdoing.
Da Silva Villar has been in jail since July 2022, one month after the two men were killed as they traveled by boat on the Itaquai River.
According to the federal police investigation, da Silva Villar financed an illegal fishing operation inside the Javari Valley Indigenous Territories, where thousands of Indigenous people live, including the world’s largest concentration of uncontacted groups.
The murders were motivated by Pereira’s efforts to monitor and enforce environmental laws in the region, police said. “The victim was dedicated to protecting environmental conservation and upholding Indigenous rights,” the statement read. Phillips was accompanying Pereira as part of research for a book on the Amazon, which will be published posthumously.
Pereira had previously worked as an offical with Brazil’s Indigenous bureau, but at the time of his death he was on leave and working as a consultant for the the local Indigenous association, known as Univaja.
Nine people were indicted over the course of the two-year investigation, including Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, who confessed to the killings but claimed self-defense. A court ruled that both will face trial by jury.
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