LONDON: The Brazilian government has been accused by a number of human rights group of not doing enough to investigate the murders of the indigenous activist Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips.
Article 19, Reporters Without Borders and the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism said Brazilian authorities have not “employed sufficient resources to fully comprehend all the elements in the case and the responsibility of all those involved.”
The two men were first reported missing in early June after last being seen alive entering the densely forested region in Brazil’s western Amazon, near the Peruvian border.
Their bodies were found a few days later by the Itaquai River, reportedly shot dead by men who ambushed their boat.
Philips and Pereira had been carrying out research for a book.
Three local fishermen were subsequently arrested and officially charged on July 22.
However, local indigenous people claim organized crime groups were behind the murders and that the fishermen did “not act alone.”
The Amazon rainforest, and especially the Javari Valley area, is known for illegal fishing, ranching, prospecting and logging, and is populated by drug gangs.
“Today the Amazon is a lawless land dominated by those who want to destroy the forest. The state needs to take action to protect the forest, which would help ensure the safety of those who defend the forest and those who do journalism there,” said Daniel Camargos, investigative journalist at Reporter Brasil, in a statement. “Covering a lawless land is risky.”
In a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the groups accused the government of President Jair Bolsonaro of having “failed to prevent tragedies like those that happened to Dom and Bruno from occurring to other people who are active in the (area).
In a statement , a lawyer representing the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley said: “In the Javari Valley, we are all Bruno and we are all Dom — we need protection because every day the threats against us are increasing.
“The murder of our friends was not an isolated incident. We know there are many interests in the region who had something to gain from their deaths — and the deaths of all environmental and Indigenous rights defenders, including ourselves,” he added.
The human rights organizations have all pointed out that the Brazilian government’s promises “have not been translated into concrete actions.”
Additionally, they criticized the government for “not crediting the Indigenous groups who helped in the search and investigation efforts.”
