Bolsonaro sentenced for derogatory behavior against journalist | NOW

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was ordered to pay damages for macho behavior and derogatory remarks addressed to investigative journalist Patricia Campos Mello. A São Paulo judge ordered the head of state to pay him 20,000 reais, or around 3,000 euros. He can still appeal against that.

Campos works for Folha De S. Paulo, one of the most respected Brazilian newspapers. In 2018, she wrote an article about an organization that spread fake news during the election campaign to discredit the Left Workers Party. Partly because of these practices, the radical right Bolsonaro was able to win.

The president-elect retaliated in early 2020 by insinuating on YouTube that the journalist had tried to get the scoop on him from an employee of a digital marketing company in exchange for sexual services. The judge considered that Bolsonaro had thus seriously damaged his name and his honor. Campos also won a legal victory over Bolsonaro’s family in January. His son Eduardo, MP, was fined 4,500 euros, also for non-pecuniary damage.

The Brazilian Federation of Journalists published a report over a year ago with examples of 428 press freedom violations in the country, twice as many as in 2019. The president was directly associated with this restriction freedom of the press in 40% of cases.