Zanin responds to journalist’s defense and converts arrest into precautionary measures

When considering an application for habeas corpus filed by the defense of journalist Maria Aparecida de Oliveira, 73, the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Cristiano Zanin, converted the journalist’s arrest into precautionary measures that must be determined by the 12th Criminal Court of Maceió (AL), where the process originated.

In the decision, Zanin used as a basis the opinion of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) which did not identify, in the request for preventive detention, “concrete indication of the insufficiency of precautionary measures other than prison”.

Maria Aparecida was arrested on July 21, 2023, in Maceió, after making serious allegations on her YouTube channel against a local judge. Among the complaints, the journalist accused the judge of receiving bribes and negotiating on behalf of companies. Maria Aparecida said she obtained the information from anonymous sources.

The aforementioned judge denounced Maria Aparecida for the alleged crimes of slander, defamation and injury. When ordering the arrest of the elderly journalist, the judge of the 12th Criminal Court of Maceió, George Leão de Omena, took as a basis a decision by the Minister of the STF, Alexandre de Moraes, in the context of the controversial inquiry of the digital militias.

In the preventive detention order, Judge George Leão said that the main objective of the measure would be to identify any others involved, presumably the journalist’s sources.

As clarified by People’s Gazette when reporting the arrest of the journalist, “Brazilian law establishes that all those who contribute to the commission of a crime are subject to the penalties provided for, to the extent of their culpability; however, the Constitution guarantees the secrecy of the source, which prohibits the use of coercive measures to reveal the identity of any informants of the journalist”.

By partially complying with the request for habeas corpus In the defense of Maria Aparecida, Minister Zanin adds that “the crime was not committed with violence or serious threat, which denotes that there is no accentuated gravity in the conduct imputed to the patient. Therefore, despite the disapproval of his action, certainly aggravated by the ongoing criminal proceedings, it is sufficient, in this case, to apply precautionary measures other than prison”.

As highlighted by the minister in his decision, between convictions and lawsuits in progress, Maria Aparecida responds to 59 lawsuits, all for the alleged commission of crimes against the honor of public authorities.

See the full decision clicking here.