The killing of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira in the Amazon is devastating for their families and friends. It is also the embodiment of a wider assault on environmental defenders and those who work with them, and of the dangers faced by journalists. The relentless targeting of those who seek to protect an ever more fragile world is increasing as the climate crisis grows more intense. In 2020, more than four defenders a week died globally. A disproportionate number are Indigenous people or, like Mr Pereira, those who work closely with and for them. Mr Phillips, though passionate about the environment, was not an activist but a reporter – one of many who have died in Latin America because of their work.
The discovery of their bodies, and the police announcement that one of the suspects arrested in connection with their disappearance has said that he killed them, brings an end to the families’ anguish of not knowing their whereabouts. “Now we can bring them home and say goodbye with love. Today, we also begin our quest for justice,” Mr Phillips’ widow, Alessandra Sampaio, wrote in a statement.
