Justice rejects appeal from photographer who lost an eye – 04/26/2023 – Panel

The São Paulo Court of Justice rejected this Wednesday (26) an appeal by photographer Sérgio Silva, who lost his left eye when he was hit by a rubber bullet while covering a protest in June 2013.

The defense asked for the reconsideration of a previous decision by the TJ, which had denied Silva compensation, stating that it was not possible to determine that the shot was fired by a PM.

Lawyers cited the case of another photographer, Alex Silveira, who in 2021 obtained compensation in a similar case, in which he also lost sight in one eye, as determined by the Federal Supreme Court.

The three judges of the TJ’s 9th Chamber of Public Law understood that the precedent would not apply to Silva’s case.

According to the judges, the photographer would not have been able to prove that the injury was undoubtedly caused by a rubber bullet.

They cited an expert report, which says that the injury could have been caused by “a stick, a stone, a hand, a head, marbles, billiard balls and cues, paintball, gun butts, a camera close to the eye for photography and even firearm projectiles made of rubber or elastomer”.

“We understand that the causal link is clear: no less than 178 rubber bullet shots were fired in that region, more than 500 bombs were thrown with moral effect. The police themselves said that”, said Silva’s lawyers, Maurício Vasques and Lucas Andreucci. They intend to appeal to the STF.

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