Bolsonaro is a "threat to democracy," HRW says
Friday, January 14th 2022 - 09:21 UTC
President Jair Bolsonaro represents a “threat” to Brazilian democracy, according to Lawyer Maria Laura Canineu, head of the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) local office. Canineu focused on the situation of journalists in the country, as well as that of indigenous communities of the Amazon region.
HRW also recommended that the international community monitor possible attacks on institutions in this election year. “2021 was marked by very serious threats from President Bolsonaro to the pillars of democracy, Bolsonaro has tried to intimidate judges of the Supreme Federal Court, tried to discredit the electoral system and attacked the media,” Canineu said upon launching HRW's annual report Thursday.
Regarding freedom of expression, she pointed out that the picture is “very worrying,” because Bolsonaro harasses journalists at all times. According to Reporters Without Borders, Bolsonaro has attacked journalists at least 90 times in the first half of 2021.
Another form of threat to ”freedom of expression was through the persecution of the president's critics with the opening of criminal investigations against journalists applying the National Security Law that was promulgated during the dictatorship (1964-1985),“ Canineu went on.
More:
https://en.mercopress.com/2022/01/14/bolsonaro-is-a-threat-to-democracy-hrw-says