Officers have already arrested three people, one of whom confessed to killing British journalist and indigenous advocate
State police in Atalaia do Norte – the riverside town where Phillips and Pereira began their final journey – told the Guardian the five suspects were being investigated over their alleged involvement in assisting the men in moving the remains of Phillips and Pereira 24 hours after the shooting.
Phillips was a British journalist who was researching a book on sustainable development in the Amazon region and Pereira was helping him negotiate remote parts of the rainforest where he was carrying out interviews.The pair were shot dead on 5 June and buried deep in the rainforest. Their bodies were discovered last week, when one of the two brothers confessed to the crime.
Officials with three unions are to vote on the strike on Monday, but are confident that members in the majority of Brazil’s 27 states will join the stoppage, which is also intended to force authorities to broaden the investigation into the crime. Officials claimed last week the suspects had acted alone, but that conclusion was questioned, not least by local Indigenous groups, who had previously reported the presence of drug gangs and organised crime mafias in the region.
Xavier’s place at the head of an organisation charged with the care and protection of an estimated 235 Indigenous tribes has also been questioned, including by Pereira, a former Funai employee. Pereira, 41, had already clashed with Xavier, a former police chief appointed by Bolsonaro in July 2019. Pereira worked with Funai until late that year, when Xavier removed him from his post. Pereira said he believed the decision had been taken because he had led a successful operation against illegal mines on Indigenous land.
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