Fine and self-censorship make up agreement for comedian to avoid prosecution

Fines and self-censorship are among the terms negotiated by the Public Ministry of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (MPRS) and the conservative comedian who gives life to the character Joaquin Teixeira so that the Ministry does not continue with a complaint against the comedian, which remains in anonymity, as a result of jokes posted on social networks.

The information is contained in the Term of Agreement of Non-Prosecution issued by the MPRS through the Prosecutor’s Office of Criminal Justice. A People’s Gazette had access to the entirety of the agreement, but in response to the comedian’s defense, the name of the character’s creator will be kept confidential.

In order not to be prosecuted for making jokes, the comedian committed to paying a fine of R$5,000 and “no longer posting homophobic content and discrimination related to race and national origin on his social networks, seeking to filter their expressions and communications”.

In addition, the comedian will have to attend the approval hearing of the agreement, on September 25th. After homologation, the fine can be paid in five installments of R$ 1 thousand until the 10th of each month. At the end of the installments, the comedian must present proof of payments to the court.

Failure to comply with any of the terms, without justification, will result in the termination of the agreement and, consequently, the resumption of the complaint, since also as a condition for the agreement with the MPRS, the comedian pleaded guilty to the charges.

When talking with People’s Gazettelawyer Mizael Izidoro, who represents the comedian, lamented the financial loss and anguish imposed on his client, even though, according to the lawyer, he has not committed any illegality.

“I can say that the posts were not even remotely illegal, which, by all indications, did not prevent the Judiciary from moving its apparatus to pursue and censor a profile focused on light and satirical humor, with almost 550,000 followers” , said the lawyer.

A little while ago, Joaquin Teixeira’s profile on Twitter, which had been private for the last few days, was published again.

“The big reality is that the reason for all this was to find out who I was: they targeted a politician, advisor, a team… and hit a lonely average Afghan who tweets jokes with an old cell phone on his break from work since 2012. I’m ashamed…”, he wrote.