Journalist Ricardo Antunes, owner of a popular Pernambuco blog, managed to recover his passport which had been seized by court order. He asked for the document to be returned so he could return to Brazil and personally attend the hearing on the case for having published reports on prosecutor Flávio Roberto Falcão Pedrosa. The journalist, who is in France, is accused of defamation and insult.
Judge Paulo Victor Vasconcelos de Almeida, of the 11th Criminal Court of Recife, ordered the Federal Police to be notified of the release of the passport “to facilitate the immediate return of the accused to the country”.
The hearing to discuss the case was set for August 28. Antunes claims he suffered “forced exile”. He plans to return to Brazil next Monday.
Ricardo Antunes was ordered to preventive detention, but was never arrested because he was on holiday in Europe. At second instance the order was revoked.
The journalist’s website and social networks have been offline for two months, also due to a court order. In the same decision to return the passport, the judge asked the Public Prosecutor to take a position on the reactivation of the portal and the profiles of the reporters.
“The fight now is for the courts to release our website so we can get back to work. The financial and emotional damage has been enormous,” the journalist says.
Judge Andréa Calado da Cruz, who ordered the arrest of Ricardo Antunes, was investigated on charges of abuse of authority. It will be up to the Prosecutor’s Office, at the end of the investigations, to decide whether or not there are the elements to file a complaint.
The journalist is accused of defamation and insult, in “criminal continuity”, against the public prosecutor Flávio Roberto Falcão Pedrosa. The criminal action was initiated after the publication of the news of the purchase of land by the prosecutor’s office on the island of Fernando de Noronha.
In ordering the arrest, Judge Andréa Calado da Cruz argued that the journalist had not complied with a provisional decision requiring the immediate removal of publications concerning the prosecutor until the conclusion of the trial.
At the time, the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) issued a note rejecting the arrest order. According to the body, the decision affects the entire journalistic class and promotes “self-censorship”.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
