backThe Vice President of Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Justice Luis Felipe Salomão, acting as Chief Justice, has suspended a preliminary injunction that barred a journalist from publishing news reports concerning a federal congresswoman. The lower court’s order had also required the removal of previously published content and the suspension of the journalist’s social media accounts for at least 90 days, under penalty of a BRL 10,000 fine and the possibility of pretrial detention in the event of noncompliance. The injunction was issued in the context of proceedings investigating an alleged defamation campaign, in which the journalist was accused of falsely attributing nepotism and corruption practices to the congresswoman, using language deemed offensive.
In reviewing the habeas corpus filed by the defense, Justice Salomão emphasized that the Federal Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling in ADPF 130, held that broad prior restraint of journalistic publications is incompatible with the Brazilian Constitution. According to that precedent, state interference in the dissemination of news and opinions must remain exceptional. The defense argued that the journalist was exercising the legitimate right to scrutinize and criticize a public official and that the prohibition on further reporting—together with the suspension of his professional platforms—amounted to unconstitutional prior censorship. In his decision, Justice Salomão noted that any excesses in journalistic activity should, as a rule, be addressed through remedies such as corrections, rights of reply, or civil damages, rather than through criminal sanctions at the outset. By suspending the preliminary measures—including the fine and the potential arrest order—he clarified that additional requests raised in the habeas corpus, such as the dismissal of the underlying investigation, will be examined in due course by the Fifth Panel of the STJ, under the reporting Justice Maria Marluce Caldas.
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