In Brazil, the Attorney General Filed a Criminal Defamation Complaint Against a Journalist

The Brazilian Attorney General, Jarbas Soares Júnior filed a criminal complaint and civil lawsuit against Brazilian journalist Thiago Herdy on February 16. 

Thiago Herdy / Image Credits: Mariana Pekin/UOL

The complaint and lawsuit result from an article by Herdy of the UOL news outlet, who frequently reports on politics and corruption, alleging that Soares Júnior sought compensation for a project in São Francisco, which is where several members of his family live, within a recent monetary settlement from a mining company.

According to CPJ, Fernanda Fiorenzano, a state attorney's office press officer, Herdy's report was "offensive" and the criminal complaint sought his prosecution for "crimes against honor." 

Crimes against honor are classified according to the Brazilian penal code into three types: slander, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years; defamation, which carries a prison sentence of one year; and injury, which can carry a prison sentence of up to six months. As Soares Junior's complaint only mentions a broad crime against honor, prosecutors must decide which offenses to pursue or whether to drop the investigation.

As Herdy told CPJ, he had reached out to Soares Júnior several days prior to publishing his article; Soares Júnior 's comments were included in the article, but they did not mention the alleged request to include the S*o Francisco project in the settlement.

According to Herdy, another journalist told him about Soares Júnior 's Instagram posts about a lawsuit and a criminal complaint against "the journalist who threw my mother's history and mine to the wolves" on February 16.

Herdy said this was the first criminal complaint he had faced as a result of his work in his 16 years covering politics and corruption.

CPJ research shows that Brazilian authorities have repeatedly used the country's outdated criminal defamation laws to harass and pressure journalists.