Led by the Guardian and the Washington Post, two newspapers for which Phillips worked as an independent correspondent, editors from at least 20 major media outlets and press freedom organizations signed the open letter, which was released Thursday. Other signatories include senior editors from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Folha de S.Paulo, National Public Radio, Bloomberg News, Associated Press, Pulitzer Center, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, ProPublica, The Intercept , Agência Pública de Jornalismo Investigativo, Dagens Nyheter, Mongabay, Stat, Reporters Without Borders, το Wallace House Center for Journalists και το πρακτορείο epbr. “We are writing to express our extreme concern about the safety and whereabouts of our colleague and friend Dom Phillips and Bruno Araújo Pereira, with whom Dom was traveling. “Dom is a world-renowned journalist with a deep love for Brazil and its people,” said the letter, which was also addressed to Brazil’s defense and foreign ministers. “As authors and colleagues who have worked with Dom, we are now very concerned about reports from Brazil that search and rescue efforts have so far been limited, with national authorities delaying offering more than very limited assistance. “We urge you to step up your efforts to locate Dom and Bruno and to provide all possible support to their families and friends.” The two men were last seen Sunday morning on the Itaquaí River in western Brazil. Phillips was working on a book on tropical forest development and was accompanied by Pereira, an explorer who has worked with indigenous tribes in the area for years. The area where they went traveling is remote and the search effort was slow to begin. Hours after the two men were reported missing, the Brazilian military said it was awaiting orders before an investigation could begin. As of Wednesday, as public pressure mounted amid campaigns by celebrities such as football legend Pelé, singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and actress Camila Pitanga, officials said they had increased their operations to 250 people, with two planes, three drones and 16 ships involved in the Search. Police said they had arrested a man who, according to sources, had seen Phillips and Pereira, but officials said they had not linked him directly to any crime. At the same time, news organizations have joined forces to put pressure on a government that has shown contempt for the media since taking office in 2019. The extremist president of Brazil has often attacked the press, distinguishing even journalists with insults and abuse. Bolsonaro even seemed to blame Phillips and Pereira for their own problems when he described the reference trip as “an adventure that is not recommended for anyone”. In an article, the Guardian called on governments and organizations to put pressure on the far-right leader. “The government is very unlikely to change course without international pressure,” he said. “This must first be understood in order to give an adequate response to this disappearance.” Complete list of signatories of the letter Katharine Viner, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian News & Media Sally Buzbee, executive editor of the Washington Post Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times Sérgio Dávila, editor-in-chief, Folha de S.Paulo Nancy Barnes, Senior Vice President of News and Editor-in-Chief, NPR John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg News Julie Pace, SVP & executive editor of the Associated Press Juan Forero, Head of South America Office, Wall Street Journal Marina Walker Guevara, Executive Editor, Pulitzer Center Rozina Breen, Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of the Office of Investigative Journalism Stephen Engelberg, Editor-in-Chief, ProPublica Paul Webster, author, the Observer Jason Ukman, Editor-in-Chief, Stat Thiago Domenici, Director, Public Organization for Investigative Journalism Rhett Butler, Founder and CEO, Mongabay Peter Wolodarski, editor-in-chief, Dagens Nyheter Roger Hodge, Deputy Editor, Intercept Felipe Maciel, Executive Director, epbr Phil Chetwynd, World News Director, AFP Emmanuel Colombié, Latin American director, Reporters Without Borders Lynette Clemetson, Director, Wallace House Center for Journalists Quinn McKew, Executive Director, Article 19 Gregory Pfeiffer, Executive Director, Institute for Current Global Affairs Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News Christina Lamb, Leading Foreign Correspondent, Sunday Times Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Channel 4 News presenter Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker biographer and lead author
