Brazil's Supreme Court overturned censorship measure against two media

The magistrate Alexandre de Moraes, one of the eleven members of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) of Brazil, suspended on Thursday a disputed decision of his and by which censored two media who has published reviews of another Supreme Court judge.

Moraes had ordered Monday that the portal of information O antagonist and that the magazine Crusoe to withdraw from their e-publishing texts in which they baderted that the president of the Supreme Court, José Antonio Dias ToffoliHe had been summoned by an informant in a corruption investigation.

The decision, described as an act of censorship and unconstitutional by the Office of the Prosecutor, it generated immediate rejection President Jair Bolsonaro himself, opposition parties, press freedom advocates, the media in general, and civil society organizations.

Dias Toffoli, however, defended the decision of his colleague and baderted that it was not an act of defense but a tool of justice to defend himself against false accusations.

But Moraes himself finally gave in on Thursday and suspended his previous decision with the argument that new information proves that the document mentioned by the media is censored and that has been questioned actually exists.

"It has been verified that the stealth document cited in the information really exists Although it is not true that he was referred to the Office of the Prosecutor to open an investigation, "said the magistrate in his new decision.

The censored media have published documents on the Lava Jato anti-corruption operation in which Dias Toffoli is quoted.

Who appoints the judge in these documents is Marcelo Odebrecht, former president of the largest construction company in Brazil, sentenced to prison and Dias Toffoli as "friend of a friend"from his father, in an allusion to the former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also imprisoned for bribery related to the state Petrobras.

Although there is no indication that Dias Toffoli is involved in corruption cases, Moraes, who was responsible for an investigation opened by the Supreme Court over alleged false news and offenses committed against his members, ordered the of this information.

The prosecutor's office unsuccessfully asked the Supreme Court to suspend its investigation whereas the same court could not be the victim, the accuser and the trial judge.

Moraes revoked censorship Shortly afterwards, the measure was criticized by other members of the court, including the highest magistrate, Celso de Mello.

In a statement issued by his office in which he does not cite any particular case, De Mello said that any kind of censorship is incompatible with the Constitution.

"Censorship, any kind of censorship, even ordered by the judiciary, it's an illegitimate and essentially inconsistent practice with the regime of fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, "said the magistrate in his note.

The decision of the Supreme Court had also been examined "very serious"Reporters Without Borders (RSF) director for Latin America, Emmanuel Colombié.

"This is an unprecedented case. This is purely censorship. Without going into details, this is the case of the court that accuses a means of spreading false news, without defining exactly what it is, and who will also be responsible for the investigation, "said Colombié. EFE in Rio de Janeiro.

"Normally, in the country, the Attorney General files the complaint and the court conducts the investigation.In this case, the court also charges and conducts an investigation.Therefore there is a conflict of interests so obvious that It is very serious, "he said.

Colombié said that "we can talk about pure censorship because the person quoted by the media is the president" of the Supreme Court, which, in his opinion, must rule on these accusations as it s'. is matters of general interest, since it is Lava Jato, which is of national interest ".

(With information from EFE)