Brazil: Sao Paulo court upholds Bolsonaro’s conviction for harassing journalists

A court of second instance confirmed this Thursday a sentence against the former president Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), accused of collective non-pecuniary damage against journalists, whom he must indemnify.

The 4th Chamber of Private Law of the Sao Paulo Court of Justice upheld the first instance decision which, in June 2022, ruled in favor of an action by the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Sao Paulo (SJSP) against Bolsonaro, the association reported in a note posted on its website.

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During his administration, Bolsonaro had the press as a target of criticism, constantly accusing it of spreading false news against him to harm him. On several occasions, he verbally attacked the media and journalists, especially women.

“The victory is a great step for the entire category (collective of journalists), which throughout the term of Jair Bolsonaro suffered recurring attacks”, the union wrote in the note.

However, the Chamber reduced the compensation set in the first instance as a penalty for the far-right ex-president, from 100,000 reais (about 20,000 dollars, at current exchange rates) to 50,000 reais (10,000 dollars).

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In April 2021, the union had denounced the then president in court for his “repeated offenses and assaults”, which he described as “systematic moral siege against the entire professional category”.

Bolsonaro’s defense denied that there was censorship, and assured that he was not referring to journalists collectively, but to individuals in particular, according to the g1 news portal.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.