BRAZIL

The struggle to defend freedom of the press in Brazil registered significant progress during this period, but it also suffered some setbacks. Several legislative initiatives are pending before Congress, while the federal bill that would have created the Federal Journalism Council failed in the face of criticism voiced by the media and opposition forces. There was widespread fear that this bill would become a backdoor way to control and censor the press by sanctioning journalists and regulating media companies. The bill was defeated in the Chamber of Deputies and the government laid the matter to rest. On December 8, 2004, a constitutional amendment was passed by Congress as part of the reforms of the judicial system. This amendment transfers crimes involving human rights violations to federal jurisdiction, especialy in cases where reporters and radio journalists are murdered and the suspects are powerful individuals who could interfere with investigations at the local level. In these cases, federal jurisdiction should translate into speedier and more impartial investigations. On the other hand, concerns have been raised over the renewed interest in the bill that led to the Gag Law. According to the bill being considered by Congress, no police, court, or prosecutorial official may give statements on the status of any investigation, not even in cases where the confidentiality of proceedings is not in effect. On December 17, 2004, during a public event in Santa Casa de Franca, state legislator Roberto Engler (PSDB), annoyed by questions being asked during an interview, accosted journalist Soraia Veloso of Correio de Franca and tried to intimidate her with aggressive gestures and offensive comments. Veloso had asked Engler about a ceremony he had organized in which Military Police vehicles were delivered outside the presence of the mayor and city council members. Engler's actions were deemed illegal because he had turned a public event into a private one for apparently electoral purposes. On December 21, 2004, journalist Fábio Oliva, editor of the newspaper Folha do Norte , in Januária, Minas Gerais, was on his way to the courthouse in that city when he was approached by lawyers (and brothers) Willer, William and Wilson Santos Ferreira, who asked him about an article he had written containing accusations against Willer. The article stated that Willer had submitted a backdated legal opinion to the city government validating the fraudulent bidding of projects at the Municipal Hospital. According to Oliva, words soon turned into blows, and Willer pulled out a gun. Oliva said that were it not for Willer's brother who restrained him, Willer would have shot him. Oliva reported the incident to local police in a criminal complaint for attempted homicide. The reports published by Folha do Norte helped lead to the removal of Mayor Manoel Ferreira Neto, by a unanimous decision of the city council. On November 26, the private security guard for a mansion neighboring that of former Mayor Paulo Maluf used a machete to assault reporter and photographer Marcelo Min of Folha de S. Paulo , following an argument over a parking spot on the street. On January 25, journalist Lúcio Flávio de Faria Pinto, editor of Jornal Pessoal , was violently assaulted by businessman Ronaldo Maiorama of Jornal O Liberal in Belém do Pará. The assault may have been motivated by an article, published in Jornal Pessoal in early January, in which Pinto criticized the vast power of the Maiorama family. The journalist suffered wounds to his leg, arms and back. J. Oliveira, a reporter for 88 FM , was at home on the evening of February 18 with his wife and daughter when, at approximately 7:30 p.m., he was surprised by two men wearing hoods. One of the assailants took Oliveira's wife to the bathroom and threatened her with a knife, while the other one began striking the journalist in the head with a rock. According to Oliveira, the assailants only stopped beating him when they saw how much blood was splattered around the house. He also stated that he has no idea who might have ordered the assault. Judge João Luiz Fischer Dias of Brasilia agreed to lift the injunction against Folha de S. Paulo barring it from publishing any news directly or indirectly related to court proceedings involving Erick José Travassos Vidigal. On November 22, Folha had been ordered to pull a story after it had already gone to press. Vidigal, a lawyer, is pursuing a lawsuit against Folha columnist Josias de Souza, who had written an article containing Vidigal's name that had been published in February of the previous year. Vidigal asked the judge to bar the newspaper from reporting the latest news in the case on the afternoon of November 22, after he was asked by Folha for a statement regarding the matter on which Folha was subsequently barred from reporting. In his petiition to Judge Fischer Dias, Vidigal alleged that the newspaper was going to publish documents that were part of the lawsuit he had filed against the columnist from Folha . However, the story was not based on documents from Vidigal's lawsuit but from another case pending before a federal court in Mato Grosso, according to the November 23, 2004 edition of Folha de S.Paulo . The judge issued an injunction to pull the story. The National Journalists Association (ANJ) stated that this injunction constitutes a curtailment of press freedom and a violation of the Brazilian Constitution. On November 24, Judge João Luiz Fischer Dias heard the appeal filed by Folha de S.Paulo and overturned his decision, thus putting an end to the matter. In its appeal, Folha argued that the intentions of Erick José Travassos Vidigal represented a form of censorship. On January 28, Judge Élvio Pigari in Roraima state handed down an injunction against Rádio Equatorial FM and TV Imperial , both located in Boa Vista, to prevent them from publishing ?any item regarding the personal, political or family life? of Mayor Teresa Jucá. This injunction was granted in response to a petition by the mayor, who felt that she had been libeled by the two stations. The judge's ruling included an order for the newspaper to pay a daily fine in the event that it makes any mention of Jucá.