By Maira Magro
Two reporters ended up arrested on Sunday, Oct. 3, after being accused of defamation by electoral authorities during the elections in the states of Río de Janeiro and Rondonia, according to the local press.
In Nova Iguaçu, in Rio de Janeiro, Odilon Correa, of the television program “Fala Baixada,” was escorted by military police to the police station after being accused of insulting an electoral supervisor while covering a candidate's vote, reported Terra. The journalist denied the defamation and later was released.
In the city of Vilhena, in Rondonia, Jovino Lobaz also was arrested after being accused by electoral authorities of defamation, according to the site Rondônia Dinâmica. Lobaz was arrested while trying to take photos inside a voting room and objecting to a ban on photographing the area. The journalist was taken to provide a statement, added the site Rondônia Agora.
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.
