(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2005, “ProTeste” magazine, published by the Brazilian Association for Defence of the Consumer (Associação Brasileira de Defesa do Consumidor), was prevented by a Sao Paulo court from distributing its latest issue containing an article about the results of their tests evaluating blood pressure-stabilising medications. The ruling came in response to […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 24 June 2005, “ProTeste” magazine, published by the Brazilian Association for Defence of the Consumer (Associação Brasileira de Defesa do Consumidor), was prevented by a Sao Paulo court from distributing its latest issue containing an article about the results of their tests evaluating blood pressure-stabilising medications. The ruling came in response to a legal action by two drug manufacturers, who were unhappy with the results. According to the association’s spokesperson – Vera Lúcia Ramos – the Sao Paulo court has prohibited “ProTeste” from revealing the names of the two firms involved.
As a consequence of the court order, the magazine had to delay distribution of the issue, remove the story, and reprint the 155,000 copy run.
Lúcia stated that “ProTeste” will appeal the decision. She adds that the legal action was unnecessary since the magazine “always offers manufacturers a chance to defend their products.”
The consumer’s association that issues “ProTeste” is a civil-society organisation that acts in the public interest and has published the results of over 60 comparative tests on different products since 2002. The magazine is distributed to the association’s members.
This alert was prepared by IPYS with information provided by the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo, ABRAJI).
