Amarildo da Cosa Oliveira, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima were indicted as defendants for the crimes committed in the Javari Valley, according to a statement released by the federal prosecutor’s office on Friday.
Veteran journalist Phillips and local expert Pereira disappeared on June 5 while on a trip to the westernmost part of Amazonas state. Their deaths in the remote region drew global attention to the dangers journalists and environmental activists often face in Brazil.
A federal court judge in Amazonas lifted the confidentiality surrounding the details of the case on Thursday.
Amarildo and Jefferson allegedly confessed to the crime in June and Amarildo led authorities to the bodies. However, Oseni’s involvement was established through testimony, according to federal prosecutors.
“There were already records of disagreements between Bruno and Amarildo regarding illegal fishing in local territory,” the statement said.
“What motivated the murders was the fact that Bruno asked Dom to photograph the defendant’s boat,” it said.
Pereira was allegedly the target of the crime, while Phillips “was killed just because he was with Bruno” to “ensure impunity for the previous crime,” the statement said.
Phillips and Pereira were conducting research for a book project on conservation efforts in the region, which authorities have described as “complex” and “dangerous” and known to harbor illegal miners, loggers and international drug dealers.
They were last seen in the community of Sao Rafael, a two-hour boat ride from the town of Atalaya do Norte, after accompanying a local patrol in the Itaquai River organized to prevent the incursions of illegal fishermen and hunters into the native land of the Javari Valley.
They reportedly received death threats just days before their disappearance.
Between 2009 and 2019, more than 300 people were killed in Brazil amid conflicts over land and resources in the Amazon, according to Human Rights Watch, citing data from the Pastoral Land Commission, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Catholic church.
And in 2020, Global Witness ranked Brazil as the fourth most dangerous country for environmental activism based on documented murders of environmentalists. Nearly three-quarters of such attacks in Brazil took place in the Amazon region, it said.
CNN’s Camilo Rocha, Rodrigo Pedroso and Philip Wang contributed reporting.
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