Léo Lins criticizes court decision that made him defendant for telling jokes

Defendant in a lawsuit for making jokes with groups considered minority, the comedian Leo Lins made critical comments to the decision of the São Paulo Court of Justice last Sunday (4). In a post on his personal Instagram account, Lins once again defended his freedom as a comedian – if convicted in the process, which is being carried out in secret from the courts, The comedian can be jailed for up to ten years for telling jokes.

From the request made by the Public Ministry of São Paulo, Lins highlighted some excerpts in his post. According to the comedian, among the objectives presented by prosecutors in blocking his YouTube channel are “cease criminal activities”, “ensure civil society’s trust in state institutions” and “suspension of the exercise of economic activity”. In addition to the suspension of Lins’ YouTube channel, the court ordered the blocking of R$300,000 in the comedian’s bank accounts to pay the fines imposed on him.

“Does anyone in their right mind and free from political ideologies think that my comedy channel is a criminal faction? What civil society expects from state institutions is to fight jokes? Is it fair, under the supposed cover of protecting the cowardly attack of minorities, for the state to use its power to crush an individual, even declaring the objective of eliminating their source of income?”, wrote the comedian.

Judicial process against Léo Lins is based on “anti-joke law” sanctioned by Lula

The Public Ministry’s complaint to the Court mentions the so-called “anti-jokes law”, sanctioned by President Lula (PT) in January which, among other measures, classifies as a crime of racism the telling of jokes about groups that may be considered minorities. The new rules provide that the maximum penalty for jokes with these groups is greater than for crimes such as theft and kidnapping.

One of the sections of the rule sanctioned by Lula determines that the crimes provided for in the Racism Law will have their sentences increased by a third to half “when they occur in a context or with the intention of relaxation, fun or recreation”. The law also determines that if the practice of alleged racism occurs in the context of artistic or cultural activities aimed at the public, the perpetrator will also be banned from visiting these places for three years.

As shown by People’s Gazetteone of the risks for the possible classification as racism of merely joking statements, which are part of the humorous activity on stand-up stages, for example, is that the law provides a great scope for conduct that can be considered criminal at the same time where it does not specify which groups the jokes are banned from.

Léo Lins remembered comedian killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan

Léo Lins also recalled the case of Afghan comedian Nazar Mohammad, known by the pseudonym Khasha Zwan, who was kidnapped and killed in July 2021 because of his jokes about the Taliban on the TikTok app. Nazar published songs and jokes against the extremist group that now rules Afghanistan. He was kidnapped in his city, Candaar, the second largest in the country, beaten and shot multiple times with firearms. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the murder.

“I am sure that the people involved in my process believe they are acting in the name of good. They believe they are fighting evil, and are using all the weapons at their disposal to put an end to crime and the supposed sinner. However, the Islamic State, for example, commits atrocities in the name of good. They use the power they have to fight infidels, sinners who in their eyes commit hate crimes according to their laws. I’m not saying that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is the Islamic State, the idea is to show that in the name of good, mistakes can be made,” he said.

Finally, the comedian asked not for privileges, but for justice. According to Lins, other people can tell jokes about the same topics as him without arousing the same reactions from the Public Ministry or the Judiciary. “If everyone is equal before the law, why can everyone tell jokes, for example, about deaf people, but in my case it becomes a crime subject to such punishments?”, he concluded.