Police had already arrested two brothers, one of whom confessed to the crime and a third surrendered early on Saturday. On Sunday, police said: “Five more people have been identified who took part in concealing the bodies.” They did not give names or details. The couple was shot and killed on June 5 and buried deep in the rainforest. Their bodies were discovered last week when one of the two brothers confessed to the crime. Police said Phillips was shot in the body, while Pereira was shot three times, twice in the chest and abdomen and once in the head. The weapons used in the killing were of the type used by the hunters, police said. The announcement came as unions working for Brazil’s National Indigenous Service, Funai, went on a five-day strike this week to oust the group’s president, who is said to be working against the interests of Brazilians. Officials with three unions will vote on the strike on Monday, but are confident members in most of Brazil’s 27 states will join the strike, which also aims to force authorities to expand their investigation into the crime. “The focus of the strike is on getting out [the Funai president] “Marcelo Xavier,” said Priscila Colotetti, executive director of Indigenistas Associados, a Funai workers’ union. “Under Xavier it is not that indigenous policies are difficult to implement, but that there are no indigenous policies. So we need a bigger strike to put pressure. “We are also pushing for a proper investigation into the murder of Dom and Bruno, so that they can find out who ordered the crime.” Officials said last week that the suspects had acted alone, but that conclusion was disputed, mainly by local indigenous groups who had previously reported the presence of drug gangs and organized crime mafias in the area. The announcement added to the widespread lack of trust that locals have placed in government agencies such as the police and, increasingly, Funai. The indigenous institution has been undermined and underfunded by Brazil’s far-right president Zaire Bolsonaro, current and former officials have said. Bolsonaro wants to open the land of the natives to lumberjacks and miners, further threatening the communities that have lived in the area for thousands of years. Xavier’s position at the helm of an organization that cares for and protects some 235 indigenous tribes has also been challenged, including Pereira, a former Funai employee. Xavier said that in the days following the couple’s disappearance, they had not obtained the necessary permits to enter Indigenous land, as required in Brazil. However, the indigenous groups said they did not need the permits because they did not dare to go to indigenous areas. A judge agreed and told Xavier to remove his statement from the Funai website and refrain from defaming the two missing. Funai complied. Funai made a belated statement on June 16, saying: “Pereira leaves a huge legacy” and celebrated his “extreme devotion… to the natives for whom he worked tirelessly”. Pereira, 41, had already clashed with Xavier, a former police chief appointed by Bolsonaro in July 2019. Pereira worked with Funai until the end of that year, when Javier removed him from office. Pereira said he believed the decision was made because he had led a successful operation to cripple illegal mines on Indigenous land. After leaving Funai, the father of three went to work with indigenous communities in the Javari Valley, a remote and densely forested area along Brazil’s western border with Peru. It was there, in a quiet part of the Itaquaí River, where he and Phillips were last seen alive. Sunday’s strike comes five days after union members at Funai headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, joined by colleagues in two other states in a one-day lightning strike. Kolotetti said staff were threatened with dismissal if they went on strike, but would not be intimidated. “We will lose money from the days we are out and there are other threats coming from behind channels,” he said. “People in senior positions are warned that they will be fired and those who are seconded here are warned that they will be sent back. “The directors are trying to put a brake.”
title: “Brazilian Police Identify Five More People Linked To Dom Phillips And Bruno Pereira Murders Dom Phillips And Bruno Pereira " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Mary Terry”
Police had already arrested two brothers, one of whom confessed to the crime and a third surrendered early on Saturday. State police in Atalaia do Norte – the riverside town where Phillips and Pereira began their last voyage – told the Guardian the five suspects were being investigated for their alleged involvement in helping men transport the remains of Phillips and Pereira 24 hours a day. after the shot. Investigator David Da Rocha described the investigation as “90% complete”, saying the expected arrests were likely to be the latest in the process. He said the five men she was expecting to arrest were relatives of the two brothers in custody. Police were awaiting a court order to begin arrests and hoped to charge them with homicide as well. Da Rocha maintained his conviction that the murder suspects had not acted on anyone’s orders and said the crime was not part of a wider criminal conspiracy. This characterization, shared by the Brazilian federal police, has been strongly opposed by indigenous activists in the region, who have argued that the killings were linked to organized crime groups. The couple was shot and killed on June 5 and buried deep in the rainforest. Their bodies were discovered last week when one of the two brothers confessed to the crime. Police said Phillips was shot in the body, while Pereira was shot three times, twice in the chest and abdomen and once in the head. The weapons used in the killing were of the type used by the hunters, police said. The announcement came as unions working for Brazil’s National Indigenous Service, Funai, went on a five-day strike this week to oust the group’s president, who is said to be working against the interests of Brazilians. Officials from three unions are set to vote on Monday, but members of the majority of Brazil’s 27 states are expected to take part in the strike, which is also aimed at forcing authorities to step up their investigation into the crime. “The focus of the strike is on getting out [the Funai president] “Marcelo Xavier,” said Priscila Colotetti, executive director of Indigenistas Associados, a Funai workers’ union. “Under Xavier, it is not that indigenous policies are difficult to implement, but that there are no indigenous policies. So we need a bigger strike to put pressure. “We are also pushing for a proper investigation into the murder of Dom and Bruno, so that they can find out who ordered the crime.” Officials said last week that the suspects had acted alone, but that conclusion was disputed, mainly by local indigenous groups, who had previously reported the presence of drug gangs and organized crime mafias in the area. The announcement added to the widespread lack of trust of locals in government agencies such as the police and, increasingly, Funai. The Indigenous Foundation has been undermined and underfunded by Brazil’s far-right president Zaire Bolsonaro, current and former officials there have said. Bolsonaro wants to open the land of the natives to lumberjacks and miners, further threatening the communities that have lived in the area for thousands of years. Xavier’s position at the helm of an organization that cares for and protects some 235 indigenous tribes has also been challenged, including Pereira, a former Funai employee. Xavier said that in the days following the couple’s disappearance, they had not obtained the necessary permits to enter the land of the natives, as required in Brazil. However, the indigenous groups said they did not need the permits because they did not dare to go to indigenous areas. A judge agreed and told Xavier to remove his statement from the Funai website and refrain from defaming the two missing. Funai complied. Funai made a belated statement on June 16, saying: “Pereira leaves a huge legacy” and celebrated his “extreme devotion… to the natives, for whom he worked tirelessly”. Pereira, 41, had already clashed with Xavier, a former police chief appointed by Bolsonaro in July 2019. Pereira worked with Funai until the end of the same year, when Javier removed him from office. . Pereira said he believes the decision was made because he had led a successful operation against illegal mines on Indigenous land. After leaving Funai, the father of three went to work with indigenous communities in the Javari Valley, a remote and densely forested area along Brazil’s western border with Peru. There, in a quiet part of the Ithaca River, he and Phillips were last seen alive. Sunday’s strike comes five days after union members at Funai headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, joined by colleagues in two other states in a one-day lightning strike. Kolotetti said staff were threatened with dismissal if they went on strike, but would not be intimidated. “We will lose money from the days we are out and there are other threats coming from behind channels,” he said. “People in senior positions are warned that they will be fired and those who are seconded here are warned that they will be sent back. “The directors are trying to put a brake.”
