Brazilian justice on Thursday, January 21 condemned deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, to compensate a journalist for moral damage after claiming that she had
"tried to seduce"
a source to obtain compromising information against his father.
According to the judgment at first instance, the 36-year-old deputy
"attacked the honor"
of journalist Patricia Campos Mello,
"questioning the seriousness of her journalistic work and of her employer"
, the highly respected daily
Folha de Sao Paulo
.
The amount of compensation has been set at 30,000 reais (4,600 euros).
Read also: Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro, the Rio man's waterfalls
Eduardo Bolsonaro had claimed in May 2020 on YouTube that the journalist had tried to seduce an employee of a digital marketing company to obtain information.
He also claimed that the journalist, winner of several awards, had been promoted for publishing false information.
He reiterated his statements on the social network Twitter.
The deputy aimed in particular at an investigation by the daily, in which Patricia Campos Mello had participated, into an organization that disseminated false news via Whatsapp messaging against the Workers' Party (PT, left) during the presidential campaign of 2018, ultimately swept away by Jair Bolsonaro.
The judge considered that Eduardo Bolsonaro,
"occupying such an important position on the national scene
(...)
and being the son of the current President of the Republic
(...)
had to be more careful in his statements"
.
Read also: In Brazil, Bolsonaro on an anti-vaccine campaign
"It's a great day"
, reacted Patricia Campos Mello after the announcement of the conviction which can still be appealed.
Jair Bolsonaro himself launched attacks on the journalist in February 2020, insinuating that she had tried to get a scoop against him in exchange for sex with his source.
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