"On National Press Freedom Day, Judge Tamara Hochgreb Matos, from the 24th Civil Court of the city of São Paulo, sentenced President Jair Bolsonaro to pay R$100,000 [USD 20,400] as compensation for collective moral damage to journalists. This ruling can be appealed.
The sentence stems from a public civil action filed against Bolsonaro on April 7 last year, Journalist's Day, by the Union of Professional Journalists in the State of São Paulo. The entity asked the Court that the president refrain from expressing 'offense, delegitimization or disqualification of the journalism profession or the individual person of press professionals, as well as to leak / disclose any personal data of journalists.' In addition, Bolosnaro must pay compensation in the amount of $ 100,000 on behalf of the Vladimir Herzog Institute.
The judge ruled that Bolsonaro had practiced collective moral harassment against journalists as a group, attacking freedom of the press and democracy. According to the court decision, the compensation should be reverted to the State Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights."
