Relatives, friends and protesters gathered today (12) at Post 6 on Copacabana Beach, south of Rio, to ask for answers about the disappearance of journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira a week ago.
They disappeared in the region of the Vale do Javari indigenous reserve, the second largest in the country, with more than 8.5 million hectares.
The protesters wore white t-shirts with a photo of the two and the question: Where are Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira?
The demonstration started shortly after 9 am, at Post 6, the place where Dom used to practice stand-up paddleand around 10 am there was a walk to post 5, where they stayed for about an hour.
Bishop Phillips, contributor to the British newspaper The Guardian, and Bruno Pereira, a licensed servant of the National Indian Foundation (Funai), were last seen on Sunday morning (5). The two left the riverside community of São Rafael towards the city of Atalaia do Norte (AM), when they disappeared without a trace.
Bruno Pereira, who is currently a collaborator of the Union of Indigenous Organizations of Vale do Javari (Univaja), had already denounced threats he had been suffering.
Last Friday (10), the Federal Police (PF) in Amazonas, which is leading the security forces in Operation Javari, reported that search teams found organic material, “apparently human”, in an area close to the port of Atalaia do Norte. There is still no information as to whether the sample collected has anything to do with the disappearance of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira.
The National Institute of Criminalistics of the Federal Police will carry out the forensic analysis of the material collected, as well as the expertise on traces of blood found on the vessel of Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, 41, known as “Pelado”.
He is suspected of involvement in the case and was temporarily detained for 30 days on Thursday night (9) by the on-duty judge Jacinta Santos, during the custody hearing in Oliveira, in the District of Atalaia do Norte (AM). The process continues in judicial secrecy.
In addition to these expertise, genetic material collected by leading researchers from Dom Phillips, in Salvador, and Bruno Pereira, in Recife, will be analyzed. These samples will be used in the comparative analysis with the blood found on the vessel.
Searches in the region are being carried out with the support of the navy, which sent a Search and Rescue (SAR) team from the Tabatinga River Captaincy to the site, with a speedboat, helicopter, boats and a watercraft. There is also support from Funai.
Article amended, at 2:40 pm, for additional information.
