CNJ punishes judge who called Bolsonaro “genocidal”

The National Council of Justice (CNJ) decided to impose a penalty of censure on judge Luiz Alberto de Freitas, of the Regional Labor Court of Porto Alegre, for taking a political stance on social media during the pandemic and criticizing former president Jair Bolsonaro. In one of the posts, which appears in the process, he called the former president a “genocidal”.

According to the CNJ, the judge was punished for reposting “images, memes and cartoons that demonstrated the magistrate’s dissatisfaction with the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic by the Brazilian authorities”.

Upon receiving the penalty of censure, the judge cannot appear on merit promotion lists for one year, counting from the imposition of the penalty. However, there is no removal, dismissal or fine.

The case’s rapporteur, counselor Vieira de Mello Filho, argued that the CNJ has already addressed the issue of freedom of expression being neither absolute nor unlimited. And he cited CNJ rules that prohibit conduct by magistrates, such as issuing an opinion that demonstrates involvement in party political activity or expressing public support or criticism of a candidate, political leaders or political parties.

The judge’s defense argued that the posts were made on closed profiles and that Freitas was merely “exercising his freedom of expression”, but ended up losing.