President was convicted in 2021 in a lawsuit filed by Patricia Campos Mello; judgment is now in the 2nd Instance
Judge Salles Rossi, from the 8th Chamber of Private Law of the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo), accepted the thesis of the defense of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and considered that he had not seen a sexist statement from the Chief Executive to journalist Patrícia. Campos Mello, from the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.
Bolsonaro was already convicted in the first instance in March 2021 for offending the journalist. At the time, the compensation was set at R$ 20,000. The journalist was responsible for making a series of reports that revealed a scheme for sending mass messages against the PT in the 2018 elections. That year, Bolsonaro defeated Fernando Haddad (PT) in the 2nd round with 57.8 million votes.
In the 2nd Instance judgment, the rapporteur, judge Clara Maria Araújo Xavier, voted to maintain the conviction and also asked for an increase in compensation to R$ 35,000. Soon after, Rossi opened a disagreement. He claims that he watched Bolsonaro’s statement, but said he did not see the use of the term “hole” in the sexual sense. The trial was suspended with 2 votes to 1 in favor of the journalist and should be resumed next Wednesday (29.jun.2022).
The journalist filed a lawsuit in February 2020, after being the target of a sexual speech by the president.
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
On February 18, 2020, Bolsonaro insulted Patrícia Campos Mello during an interview with journalists in front of Palácio do Alvorada. The reporter was the author of a report, in December 2018, about the firing of messages on WhatsApp to benefit politicians during that year’s elections.
Bolsonaro referred to the testimony of Hans River do Rio Nascimento, a former employee of Yacows, one of the companies that allegedly fired the shots at the PT, at the CPMI of fake news in Congress on February 11. Without presenting evidence, the deponent accused Patricia of offering sex in exchange for information for the report.
Bolsonaro alluded to the case with a sexual insinuation: “She wanted a scoop. She wanted to blow the whistle at any cost against me.”, said the president. Among reporters, the jargon “make a hole” means publishing information before competitors. When using the expression, the president emphasized the double meaning of the word when referring to the journalist. Supporters beside him chuckled.
In the sentence of the 1st Instance, the magistrate understood that the accusations made by Bolsonaro were intended to offend the reputation of Campos Mello. Bolsonaro’s defense appealed and the case is now being tried in the 2nd Instance.
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