"Former President Jair Bolsonaro has been irrevocably sentenced by the São Paulo Court of Justice to pay a collective compensation of 50 thousand reais [about US $10 thousand] to journalists for moral damages. The lawsuit was filed by the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of São Paulo (SJSP, for its acronym in Portuguese), which alleged that the former president aggressively attacked press professionals during his term in office, in his speeches and on social media. In the lawsuit, the former president's defense responded that he only exercised his 'right to criticize stories that, in his opinion, did not represent the truth of the facts and that were offensive and damaging to his reputation.'
In a report, the organization recorded 175 attacks by Bolsonaro against the press since 2020. The list includes insults, homophobic attacks, attacks on women journalists, and threats.
The unanimous sentence was issued by the 4th Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo. As the decision is now final, the defense of the former president can no longer appeal. The amount of the fine will be destined to the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights of the State of São Paulo."
