Abraji announces the first two cases of the Legal Protection Program for Journalists

Three months after it was launched, the Legal Protection Program for Journalists, of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) is accepting its first two cases. One of them is kept confidential under the guidance of the defense. The other will benefit reporter Alexandre Aprá, founder of the blog Isto É Notícia [This Is News], from Cuiabá.

Abraji's initiative is a response to the growing threats to press freedom and judicial harassment of journalists and communicators in Brazil. The program's objectives are to guarantee legal assistance to journalists who, because of their work, are being silenced or constrained through legal proceedings. Professionals who are being harassed, threatened, and persecuted and who are interested in civilly suing their aggressors, seeking to end the attacks and/or compensation for damages, are also welcome.

Alexandre Aprá is the target of several lawsuits filed by people linked to the political group of Mato Grosso governor Mauro Mendes (DEM). For eight years, the journalist has been producing reports that signal suspicions of corruption. He has already gone to court to enforce the Access to Information Law, and was physically attacked in 2015.

The specific case that Abraji will be funding is a civil procedure filed by Mauro Carvalho Junior, then secretary of the Mato Grosso Civil House, who claims to have suffered an offense to his honor by the publication of reports on the state government's purchase of luxury jets, which was the issue of a request for action by the National Council of Justice. The secretary asks for an indemnity of 14 minimum wages, equivalent to R$ 15,400.00 (fifteen thousand and four hundred Brazilian Reais).

Program Criteria

In the first year of operation, the Program's goal is to provide legal assistance to up to six professionals. Priority will be given to freelance journalists and communicators who work outside the greater urban centers and who do not have the financial support of the outlets for which they work, or entrepreneurs who had their media financial health destroyed by an overflow of lawsuits. Professionals who want to sue public authorities are also on the radar, as are possible cases of strategic litigation.

Regarding journalists who are being legally prosecuted, assistance will be given to those with lawsuits in the first instance, without defense manifestation, related to the exercise of the profession and before the defendant’s deposition. An example are the civil actions that ask for the censorship of publications and compensation for moral damage, as well as criminal processes such as criminal complaints for slander, defamation, or injury.

In the case of a journalist facing threats or harassment, especially from public authorities in the digital environment, assistance will be given to those in which the aggressions constitute retaliation due to their journalistic work.

Finally, aspects related to the journalist will be analyzed, according to the good practices of the profession and that meet the criteria of financial insufficiency and functional independence of large media groups. Criteria regarding ethnic and geographic location diversity will also be adopted. 

The two press professionals are the first to be assisted by the project, which is funded by the international organization Media Defence in partnership with the Tornavoz Institute.

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