IN A MAJOR PRESS FREEDOM VICTORY, BRAZIL SUPREME COURT JUDGE RULES TO PROTECT GLENN GREENWALD AND TH
IN A MAJOR PRESS FREEDOM VICTORY, BRAZIL SUPREME COURT JUDGE RULES TO PROTECT GLENN GREENWALD AND THE INTERCEPT BRASIL
By Trevor Timm, Freedom.press
August 10, 2019 |
In a crucial victory for press freedom in Brazil, Minister Gilmar Mendes, a member of Brazil’s Supreme Court, has barred the Bolsonaro administration and Justice Minister Sergio Moro from investigating The Intercept Brasil and journalist Glenn Greenwald for its reporting on unethical and potentially illegal conduct involving Moro.
Mendes, in a sweeping decision, wrote that any attempt to investigate journalists for their reporting would “constitute an unambiguous act of censorship” and would violate Brazil’s constitution.
Over the past two months, Greenwald and The Intercept Brasil have published a series of damning articles on Moro’s role as a judge in Operation Car Wash, a string of supposedly anti-corruption prosecutions of Brazil’s political elite. The stories were based on Telegram chats given to The Intercept Brasil by an anonymous source.
The stories, which have dominated the political conversation in Brazil for weeks, showed Moro closely coordinating with prosecutors over their strategy in an apparent attempt to steer the cases and help convict defendants — all while Moro publicly portrayed himself as an unbiased and independent judge.
Most critically, Moro presided over the trial of leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and barred him from running for reelection in 2018 — just as polls showed he was the heavy favorite to win. Hard right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro ended up winning the presidency and immediately appointed Moro as his Justice Minister.
More:
https://popularresistance.org/in-a-major-press-freedom-victory-brazil-supreme-court-judge-rules-to-protect-glenn-greenwald-and-the-intercept-brasil/?fbclid=IwAR08pQS33PjRHqx7DXcd-YN5FSKvlg6v7-4tpq1ZWYOWcSm8PPLyhurluuo