Journalists from TV RBA and Diário do Pará newspaper were not allowed to witness statements made in court by Rômulo Maiorana Jr. on May 18, Diário Online reports.
Named for Rômulo Sr., the Maiorana family owns the largest media company in northern Brazil. Company president Maiorana Jr. is charged with involvement in a scheme that siphoned more than $2.4 million from an Amazon-region development fund.
At the request of Maiorana Jr’s lawyer, the judge expelled the journalists from the court and threatened to have the police arrest them. However, after negotiation, the court allowed one reporter to remain in the newsroom with no electronic equipment.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
