​Police charge alleged “mastermind” behind murder of former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips

Brazil’s federal police have formally charged the alleged “mastermind” behind the murders of former Mixmag editor Dom Phillips and indigenous activist Bruno Araújo Pereira, The Guardian reports.

Both Phillips and Pereira were killed in the Amazon rainforest in June 2022 while travelling together on a reporting mission. They were reportedly ambushed before being shot.

Though he was not named in any official documentation, previously charged suspect Rubén Dario da Silva Villar was named by Brazilian newspaper O GLOBO as the mastermind behind the murders.

The criminal mastermind was accused of providing ammunition to a group linked with the murders, and was also alleged to have plotted a way to hide both Phillips’ and Pereira’s bodies.

Police indicted nine people in alleged links to the double homicide, including the alleged lead perpetrator, who is also accused of “financially sponsoring the activities of the criminal organisation”.

“The other suspects played roles in the execution of the homicides and in the concealment of the victims' bodies,” reads a statement from the Federal Police in Amazonas, published today, November 4.

The charge follows a two-year investigation by Brazil’s federal police, which concluded last Friday. It confirmed that the murders were the “result of Bruno Pereira's inspection activities in the region”.

“The investigation also revealed the activities of organised crime in the Atalaia do Norte/AM region, linked to predatory fishing and hunting,” the statement reads. “The actions of the criminal group generated socio-environmental impacts and caused threats to environmental protection officers and indigenous populations.”

The mastermind behind the crimes currently remains in prison, according to the statement.

Bruno Pereira was a former government employee who focused his work on the protection of Brazil’s uncontacted tribes, and was regularly the victim of threats from loggers and miners seeking to exploit Indigenous lands.

Phillips’ journalistic focus since 2007 was predominantly on Brazil, its indingenious communities, and the environment. As the former editor of Mixmag, Phillips also contributed to newspapers including the Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Financial Times.

[Via The Guardian]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter