Suspected of being the mastermind behind the murder of indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips, Rubens Villar Pereira was released on provisional bail after posting a R$15,000 bail. The release took place yesterday (21) in the morning, but was only announced today (22) in the late afternoon.
According to the Federal Police Superintendence in Amazonas, Pereira, also known as Colombia, went under house arrest in Manaus and is being monitored by an electronic anklet. Because of difficulties in accessing the internet in the interior of the state, he was released on the condition that he remain in the capital of Amazonas.
With the passport held by the Federal Police, Colombia cannot leave the country. On the 6th, the Federal Court in Amazonas had granted provisional release to the suspect. The Federal Public Ministry appealed the decision, but last Tuesday (18), federal judge Fabiano Verli maintained the release, arguing that the alleged principal has the right to respond to the cases in freedom.
Colombia was arrested in early July, accused of presenting a false identity when giving testimony at the police station in Tabatinga (AM) about the Murder of Bruno and Dom Phillips. At the time, the suspect presented a Colombian ID with another surname, in addition to the Brazilian document. The Federal Police are investigating the suspicion that he had a third document, a Peruvian one.
Appointed as the mastermind of the crime, Colombia denied, in the deposition, any involvement in the death of the indigenist and the journalist, who reported for the newspaper The Guardian. The Federal Police, however, maintained the line of investigation.
Bruno and Phillips were killed in early June while traveling by boat through the Vale do Javari region. Located near the Brazilian border with Peru and Colombia, the region is home to the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land, the second largest in the country, with more than 8.5 million hectares. The area is also home to the largest number of isolated or newly contacted indigenous peoples in the world.
At least eight people are being investigated for possible involvement in the double murder and concealment of corpses. Three of the suspects are in custody: Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, known as Pelado, Jefferson da Silva Lima and Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, known as Dos Santos.
