"The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji, by its Portuguese acronym) and 20 other civil society organizations published, this Wednesday [March 15, 2023], a collective statement expressing their concern over six legal cases filed against reporter Schirlei Alves, from Santa Catarina [Brazil]. The perpetrators of these actions are a judge, a prosecutor and a lawyer.
Organizations advocating for freedom of the press and women's rights evaluated this legal siege as a way of intimidating journalists.
In 2020, the reporter [Schirlei Alves] worked as a freelance for the website The Intercept Brazil and revealed a scandal: The trial of Mariana Ferrer, a digital influencer humiliated during a hearing about the rape she suffered. 'It was from Schirlei Alves' feature story that this case was widely debated and culminated in the approval of Federal Law No. 14,425/2021, known as the Mariana Ferrer Law, which protects victims and witnesses of sexual crimes in the context of trials,' the document states.
The legal case in Santa Catarina was initiated by the people involved in that matter: The lawyer of the businessman accused of the rape, the prosecutor who participated in the case and the judge who issued the final sentence."
