The charges represent a straightforward attempt to intimidate and retaliate against Greenwald and "The Intercept Brasil" for their critical reporting on messages that appeared to show a judge advising federal prosecutors how to prosecute cases. Further, the government has essentially criminalized engaging in legitimate journalistic practices.
We, the undersigned press freedom and civil liberties organizations, emphatically condemn the Brazilian authorities’ criminal charges against the award-winning investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald.
These charges represent a straightforward attempt to intimidate and retaliate against Greenwald and The Intercept Brasil for their critical reporting on messages that appeared to show a judge advising federal prosecutors how to prosecute cases he was presiding over in the “Operation Car Wash” investigation. Further, by charging Greenwald with a cybercrime the government has essentially criminalized engaging in legitimate journalistic practices, which threatens to have a chilling effect on journalists and sources alike.
The recently disclosed charges are only the most recent development in a campaign of harassment against journalists covering the scandal. Threats against them have been documented since last June, when The Intercept Brasil began publishing a series of important public interest stories based on a cache of leaked Telegram messages between public officials.
A coalition of 29 free speech and human rights organizations penned a letter in July 2019 to denounce these threats. Then, as now, the implications affect not just Greenwald and his colleagues, but the broader free press in Brazil, including both domestic and international media.
The attacks on Greenwald and The Intercept Brasil have included specific death threats, public disinformation, and a criminal prosecution. Notably, in August 2019, in a remarkable opinion a member of Brazil’s highest court ordered any police investigation into Greenwald halted and condemned any such efforts as “an unambiguous act of censorship” in violation of the country’s constitution.
The right of journalists to report on primary source materials documenting official malfeasance is a critically important press freedom issue. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has abused its power by charging Greenwald for doing just that – despite a federal police conclusion just last month that there was no evidence that Greenwald committed any crime in relation to the leaked messages.
Given the Supreme Court injunction and that federal police conclusion, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office’s position that Greenwald conspired to commit a crime with his anonymous source is unjustifiable.
These charges await approval from a federal judge, giving the courts the opportunity to reject them and protect freedom of the press. Even so, the chilling effect of such legal intimidation remains. If these tactics are allowed to stand, it would jeopardize all Brazilians’ freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom to participate in democracy.
Sincerely,
Freedom of the Press Foundation*
Reporters Without Borders
Committee to Protect Journalists
American Civil Liberties Union
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
IPANDETEC Centroamérica
ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America
Demand Progress
Columbia Journalism Review
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Fundación Ciudadania Inteligente
Fundación Huaira (Ecuador)
Intervozes
CODEPINK
Fundación Datos Protegidos (Chile)
Usuarios Digitales
Derechos Digitales
Sursiendo CCD
TEDIC
Fundación Vía Libre
Fundación Karisma
Fundación Acceso (Costa Rica)
Cooperativa Tierra Común
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
UBUNTEAM COMMUNITY for Open source Softwares and digital rights promotion
IFEX
IFEX-ALC
Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji)
National Federation of Brazilian Journalists (FENAJ)
Agência Pública
Instituto Vladimir Herzog
Human Rights Watch
PEN International
Witness
Asociación por los Derechos Civiles
Access Now
WAN-IFRA, World Association of News Publishers
Doc Society
Newscoop
ExposeFacts
Roots Action
Brave New Films
