Analysis of the murders of Bruno and Dom is up to the Federal Court
Head of the District of Justice of Atalaia do Norte (AM), Judge Jacinta Silva dos Santos decided that the judicial process instituted to identify and punish those involved in the murders of indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips should be tried by the Federal Court.
The magistrate justified her decision to abdicate jurisdiction over the case in favor of the Federal Justice, noting that the report of investigations already carried out by the Federal and Civil Police points out that the motivation for the crime is directly related to conflicts resulting from the defense of the rights of indigenous peoples living in in Vale do Javari, where Bruno and Dom were killed.
For the judge, the preliminary police findings indicate that the analysis of the legal matter is the responsibility of the Federal Court, as the state Public Ministry had already considered when asking the judge to decline jurisdiction in the case.
The Federal Court is yet to consider the judge's decision. If he accepts responsibility for the process, he will be responsible for judging the request of the police authorities to convert the temporary arrests of three of the four suspects of participation in the crime who are already in custody. The temporary arrest warrants for Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, the Pelado; Jefferson da Silva Lima and Oseney da Costa de Oliveira are valid until today (8). If converted into preventive detention orders, the three can remain in detention indefinitely.
"The temporary arrests of the three criminals are expiring today. A few days ago, the Federal and Civil Police represented for the maintenance of the arrest of the three criminals, but no longer [temporarily], but, in view of the evidence already obtained, now preventively The decision has to be made today, because the term for temporary arrests expires today", said the PF superintendent in Amazonas, delegate Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, during a press conference this morning. A fourth suspect investigated, Rubens Villar Coelho, was detained (https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2022-07/pf-prende-suspeito-de-participacao-nas-mortes-de-bruno-e-dom-phillips), yesterday (7), in Amazonas.
Understand the Case
Bruno and Phillips were ambushed and 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 (each hectare corresponds, approximately, to the measurements of a field of official football). The area is also home to the largest number of isolated or newly contacted indigenous peoples in the world.
The pair were last seen as they traveled from the community of São Rafael to the city of Atalaia do Norte (AM), where they would meet with indigenous leaders and riverside communities. Their bodies were retrieved ten days later. They were buried in an area of dense forest, about 3 kilometers from the channel of the Itacoaí River.
A contributor to the British newspaper The Guardian, Dom devoted himself to environmental journalistic coverage – including land conflicts and the situation of indigenous peoples – and prepared a book about the Amazon. Pereira had already occupied the General Coordination of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indians at the National Indian Foundation (Funai) before taking leave from the foundation, without salary, and going to work for the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja). For his work in defense of indigenous communities and the preservation of the environment, he received several death threats.
On June 19th, the PF reported that at least eight people were already being investigated for possible participation in the double murder and the concealment of the corpses. Among them, Pelado, Lima and Oliveira.
