(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2005, the Justice Department in Pará State, northern Brazil, ordered journalist Lúcio Flávio Pinto to pay a US$3,300 fine to Cecílio do Rego Almeida for “moral damages”. The reporter had accused the businessman of real state fraud in 2000. In 2002, Almeida was mentioned in a government report on people […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2005, the Justice Department in Pará State, northern Brazil, ordered journalist Lúcio Flávio Pinto to pay a US$3,300 fine to Cecílio do Rego Almeida for “moral damages”. The reporter had accused the businessman of real state fraud in 2000.
In 2002, Almeida was mentioned in a government report on people involved in fraudulent real state dealings. The journalist argued that his story had exposed the fraud, which was later confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Judge Amílcar Guimarães, who ruled against the journalist, the problem involved a sentence in a story written by Pinto, in which the journalist described Almeida as an “audacious, smart and very well articulated pirate and owner of lands.” The judge said the sentence was “rude and lacked journalistic content, adding nothing to the story.” Pinto plans to appeal.
The Pará State Journalist’s Union published a statement condemning the sentence. “The union considers the judge’s decision to be an attack on press freedom,” the group said, while adding that the decision “disrespects the right to information and is against democracy.”
This alert was prepared by IPYS with information provided by the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo, ABRAJI).
