A Sao Paulo court on Thursday upheld the judgment of the trial judge against Jair Bolsonaro last year to pay compensation for moral damages to journalists.
The Fourth Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Second Instance fully upheld the June 2022 judgment of the 24th Civil Judge of São Paulo and only changed the amount of compensation to be paid by the former President (2019-2022). reduced by half.
The compensation of 100,000 reais (about 18,000 euros) awarded by the judge was reduced by the court to 50,000 reais (about 9,000 euros).
As a result of the decision, the leader of the Liberal Party (PL) must pay the amount of compensation to the accounts of the Regional Fund for the Protection of Diffuse Rights, which will be used in actions to protect freedom of the press.
The judges of the court of second instance accepted the arguments of the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of São Paulo that the then head of state committed the crime of moral persecution for the constant attacks on the press with compensation for collective non-pecuniary damage.
The court considered that the former president abused the right to freedom of speech to offend the press.
According to the union that filed the complaint, Bolsonaro “attacked freedom of the press and democracy because, in a hostile, disrespectful and derogatory manner, using verbal violence, rudeness and derogatory, homophobic, xenophobic and misogynistic expressions, he went beyond their right to freedom of expression opinions and morally attacked the collective.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism has indicated that Bolsonaro was the author of 557 attacks against the media and professionals in 2022, which intensified during the October presidential election campaign, in which he was defeated by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The same association said Bolsonaro’s attacks on the press had increased from 130 in 2019, the first year of his term, to 453 in 2021 and to 557 last year.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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