"NITEROI, Brazil — Gathered at a cemetery on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, friends and relatives paid their final respects on Sunday to British journalist Dom Phillips, killed in the Brazilian Amazon while researching for a book about how to save the world’s largest rainforest.
“First of all, I would like to express my eternal gratitude to the Indigenous peoples, who are with us as loyal guardians of life, justice, and our forests,” Phillips’ wife, Alessandra Sampaio, said at the cemetery entrance. “Today, Dom will be cremated in Brazil, the country he loved, his chosen home. Today is a day of mourning.”
Phillips, 57, and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, 41, were killed on June 5 on their boat on the Itaquai river, near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia. Three fishermen from nearby riverine communities were arrested. Two of them confessed to the murders, according to the police."
Fabiano Maisonnave reports for the Associated Press June 26, 2022.