"A São Paulo court confirmed on Thursday [May 25] a sentence against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), accused of causing collective moral damage to the the journalists' professional group. The 4th Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice upheld the decision of the first instance, which, in June 2022, ruled in favor of an action by the Professional Journalists Union of the State of São Paulo (SJSP, by its Portuguese acronym) against Bolsonaro, as reported by the association in a statement published on its website.
'The victory is a great step for the entire profession, which suffered recurring attacks throughout Jair Bolsonaro's term,' the union stated. However, the Chamber reduced the amount of compensation initially set as a penalty for the former president from one hundred thousand reais [US $19,980] to 50 thousand reais [US $9,990].
In April 2021, the union had filed a lawsuit against the then-president for repeated 'offenses and aggressions.' Bolsonaro's defense denied any censorship and stated that he was not referring 'to the entire journalism profession, but rather to specific professionals,' according to the news portal G1."
