On 30 March 2010, the offices of the newspaper Leia o Jornal were attacked by two armed men with Molotov cocktails. The owner of the newspaper, José Alcides de Oliveira, has alleged that the Mayor of Barueri, Rubens Furlan, was behind the attack.
Luiz Claudio Cunha, journalist and author of the book “Operation Condor: The kidnapping of the Uruguayans”, is facing charges for “moral harm” against João Augusto da Rosa, former member of the secret police during the Brazilian dictatorship. According to the officer, who was convicted in 1980, the book failed to mention that he was acquitted in 1983 for “lack of evidence”. The book has won several awards in Brazil and received a mention in the awards “Casa de las Americas 2010”, failed in Havana last week.
Brazilian judge, Pedro Sakamoto has prohibited bloggers Enock Cavalcanti and Adriana Vandoni from reporting on injunctions issued against politician José Riva. Vandoni and Cavalcanti, both from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, reported on an accusation by the Federal Public Ministry (Ministério Público Federal) against Riva in their blogs. They are not allowed to voice any opinion until the legal process of Riva’s case is complete. The judge also determined the deletion of posts already published from Cavalcanti blog “Página do E” (E Page) deemed “offensive”. The bloggers will have to pay a daily fine of 1,000 reais (US $570) if they disobey the order. Read more here
A judge handed down a 31-year prison term to a police officer turned vigilante who abducted and tortured three journalists working for O Dia newspaper, a verdict the Brazilian newspaper described Thursday as “historic.” Former police inspector Odinei Fernandes da Silva, who led a paramilitary group that controlled the Rio de Janeiro slum of Batan, was found guilty of robbery, torture and criminal conspiracy. Read more here