The sentence responds to a lawsuit filed in April 2021 by the Syndicate of Professional Journalists of the State of Sao Paulo against the former Brazilian president, to stop offending, delegitimizing and disqualifying the journalistic profession, in addition to disclosing the personal data of reporters.
A Brazilian court sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday at second instance to pay an indemnity of 50,000 Brazilian reais (more than 9,200 dollars) for moral damage to the journalists.
The Fourth Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of Sao Paulo upheld the sentence handed down by a previous court, although he halved the amount of compensation.
Bolsonaro’s legal team, which will have to donate this payment to the State Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights, the purpose of which is to promote the repair of damage caused to the environment or to artistic or collective rights, He argued that “there was never any censorship” and that his remarks did not refer to the entire profession, “but to certain professionals”.
In April 2021, the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Sao Paulo (SJSP) filed a complaint against the former president so that he stop offending, delegitimizing and disqualifying the journalism profession in addition to disclosing personal data to journalists.
The SJSP’s legal coordinator, lawyer Raphael Maia, argued Bolsonaro’s statements took place “in a hostile, disrespectful and humiliating manner, with the use of verbal abuse, crude, pejorative, homophobic, xenophobic and misogynistic expressions”.
“(These) go beyond their right to freedom of expression and involve collective moral harassment against all categories of journalists, undermining the very freedom of the press and democracy, because they have the power to sow fear among press professionals” he pointed.
Source: Latercera
