Wake arrested in Brazil for killing British journalist

Mourning family and friends on Sunday paid their last respects to British journalist Dom Phillips, who was murdered along with his local leader in the Amazon earlier this month.

Phillips, 57, and Bruno Pereira, 41, an expert on indigenous affairs, were shot dead while returning from an expedition to a remote rainforest region plagued by drug trafficking, illegal gold mining and fishing.

“Dom will be cremated in the country he loved, Brazil, which he chose to call home,” his widow, Brazilian Alessandra Sampaio, tearfully told reporters after a wake was held at Parque da Colina Cemetery outside Rio de Janeiro Phillips had been held.

“Dom was a very special person, not only because he defended what he believed in as a professional, but because he had a big heart and love for humanity,” Sampaio said.

“Let’s celebrate the sweet memory of Dom and his presence in our lives.”

She said the family will pay close attention to the investigation into the murder of her husband and his colleague and will demand justice.

Three suspects were arrested in the crime, including a fisherman who confessed to burying the bodies and led investigators to the scene.

Phillips and Pereira’s disappearance on June 5 sparked an international outcry. Activists have blamed President Jair Bolsonaro for the killings for allowing commercial exploitation of the Amazon at the expense of the environment and law and order.

Pereira, an outspoken defender of indigenous rights, had received multiple death threats prior to the double killing.

He was buried on Friday in his home state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil for a solemn funeral of indigenous hymns performed by members of a tribe he dedicated his life and work to defend.