Leo Lins has partial victory in action for jokes about “vulnerable minorities”

Comedian Leo Lins obtained a partial victory in an action in which the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP) accuses him of “racism and prejudice” due to jokes made at a show Stand Up Comedy “against vulnerable minorities”. The action will be sent to the Federal Court at the request of the comedian’s defense, who argued that the São Paulo Court was incompetent to judge the case.

According to the MPSP’s complaint, Leo Lins “practiced, induced and incited, on several occasions, in criminal continuity, discrimination and prejudice based on color, ethnicity, religion or national origin, in a context and with the intention of relaxation, fun and recreation”.

In the action, the Public Ministry asks that the comedian be punished with restriction of freedom and pay a fine for collective moral damage.

The request for Habeas Corpus of the defense used as a basis the fact that the video of the comedian’s show, published on YouTube, has more than 1.3 million views in 17 different countries, which in the understanding of the lawyers and the judge reporting the case, Marcos Alexandre Zilli , from the 16th Chamber of Criminal Law, justifies the federalization of the case.

When talking to the People’s Gazettethis Wednesday (10), the comedian’s lawyer, Carlos Eduardo Ramos, said that the case will be distributed to the Federal Court of São Paulo and will undergo new analysis by a new judge, who will be able to continue the accusation, as well as point out possible nullities in the process.

“This case is very important for freedom of expression in Brazil, which is threatened. If you don’t say what a certain current [ideológica] you want, you suffer cancellation and so on. So, all we want with all of this is for the constitutional provision of freedom of expression to be valued”, said the lawyer.

As reported by People’s Gazettelast week, Leo Lins participated, on March 27, 2024, in the last hearing of another case filed by the Public Defender’s Office of the State of Sergipe because of a joke about deaf people.

In the initial petition, the Public Defender’s Office requests the establishment of collective moral damages of R$2 million, the suspension of social networks and even the arrest of Leo Lins, in addition to asking that the comedian be “formally prevented from making or promoting prejudiced jokes ” under penalty of a fine of R$20,000. The comedian awaits the announcement of the sentence in the coming months.