Police tortured suspect in Amazon disappearance, family says

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE
Associated Press

ATALAIA DO NORTE, Brazil (AP) — The family of the only suspect in the disappearance of a British journalist and Indigenous official in the Amazon is claiming he is innocent. The family also alleges that authorities are trying to force a confession. Police in the state of Amazonas, where the disappearance took place, have said they can’t comment on the accusations because the case is now being handled by Federal Police. Freelance journalist Dom Phillips and  Indigenous official Bruno Pereira were last seen on Sunday morning in the Javari Valley, Brazil’s second-largest Indigenous territory which sits in an isolated area bordering Peru and Colombia. The two men were in the Sao Rafael community. They were returning by boat to the nearby city of Atalaia do Norte but never arrived.