Dom Phillips

British journalist, writer, editor

Dominic Mark Phillips better known as Dom Phillips (23 July 1964[1] – 13 June 2022) was a British journalist and freelance writer for The Guardian, he wrote for the Washington Post, The New York Times and The Financial Times.

Dom Phillips
Phillips, questioning Jair Bolsonaro, in 2019
Born
Dominic Phillips

23 July 1964
Disappeared5 June 2022
Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil
Died13 June 2022 (aged 57)
Body discovered15 June 2022
Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil
Occupation(s)Journalist, writer
Employer(s)Freelancer
The Guardian
The Washington Post
Spouse
Alessandra Sampaio
(m. 2015)

On June 5, 2022, he and Brazilian indigenous peoples expert Bruno Araújo Pereira disappeared in the remote Javari Valley on the western edge of Brazil's Amazon state, one of the most remote areas of the rainforest.

Assassination

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On June 3, 2022, The expert on Indigenous peoples Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips arrived at Lago do Jaburu, a town near the surveillance base of the National Indian Foundation (Funai) on the Ituí River, so that Phillips could visit the place and conduct interviews with indigenous people. They then went to the community of São Rafael where they would hold a meeting with a local fisherman nicknamed "Churrasco". The objective of the meeting was to discuss the joint work between riverside residents and indigenous people in the surveillance of the Javari Valley, a territory highly affected by invasions and criminal activities. However, the resident was not in the community. Bruno and Dom traveled down the Itaguaí River to the municipality of Atalaia do Norte and then disappeared.[2][3]

The Brazilian embassy released a statement that his body had been found on Monday, 13 June, but retracted it the following day, apologizing to Phillips' family for "information that did not prove correct."

On 15 June, a man named Amarildo da Costa da Oliveira, who was arrested days before in connection with the case, confessed to shooting and killing both Phillips and Pereira. He also told the police where the remains were buried. The remains were then discovered by the Brazilian authorities, who sent them to the country’s capital, Brasilia, to be examined.

On 17 June, the remains that were discovered were identified as belonging to Phillips, these were authenticated through dental records. The second body - believed to be of Pereira, was still being examined.[4][5][6]

References

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  1. "Dom Phillips, journalist who chronicled Amazon deforestation, is dead at 57". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  2. "Brazilian police say 'no evidence of crime' in search for missing journalist". the Guardian. 8 June 2022.
  3. Reverdosa, Juliana Koch,Marcia (7 June 2022). "British journalist and Brazilian indigenous affairs expert missing in the Amazon". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Downie, Andrew (16 June 2022). "Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira: Brazil police find two bodies in search for missing men". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. Carone, Carlos; Pinheiro, Mirelle (15 June 2022). "PF encontra corpos de indigenista e jornalista no AM e conclui caso" [Federal Police find bodies of indigenist and journalist in Amazonas and closes case]. Metrópoles (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. "PF diz que Amarildo confessou assassinato de indigenista e jornalista no AM; 'remanescentes humanos' encontrados passarão por perícia" [Federal Police says Amarildo confessed murder of indigenist and journalist in Amazonas; 'human remnants' found will undergo forensic examination]. G1 (in Portuguese). 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.