Almost 40 cases of violence against journalists reported after the elections

Brazil’s reputation of hostility towards the press is still very much alive. Abraji, Brazil’s investigative journalism association, registered 37 cases of violence against reporters in the aftermath of the presidential runoff election.

According to the association, most of the reported cases consisted of Bolsonaro supporters harassing teams of reporters covering putschist roadblock protests throughout the country, and were more prevalent in Brazil’s interior.

On one occasion, radio reporter Diogo Meira was working at protests in Araxá, Minas Gerais, when he was surrounded by Bolsonaro supporters who threatened him, before a truck driver attacked him physically. Ironically, Mr. Meira was working for Jovem Pan, a radio station that was openly pro-Bolsonaro throughout the election campaign.

Earlier this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranked Brazil ninth in impunity for crimes against journalists, before Pakistan and India. Historically, Brazil and Mexico are often considered among the most dangerous countries for journalists in Latin America and the world.

In June of this year, Brazil mourned the tragic murders of British reporter Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, in a remote corner of the Amazon forest.

Mr. Pereira had worked for years to dismantle illegal fishing in the region, and Mr. Phillips was in the region on a research trip for a book. The case received major international attention, as President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed the severity of the case, erroneously saying Mr. Phillips was “not well-liked in the region” and that the pair’s trip was an “ill-advised adventure.” 

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