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ALERT - BRAZIL
20 June 2007
University professor convicted of defamation; his one-year prison sentence
reduced to community service
SOURCE: ARTICLE 19, London
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a 15 June 2007 ARTICLE 19 press
release:
University professor sentenced to one year in prison for defamation will
have his appeal reviewed in court today
Professor Emir Sader was sentenced in October 2006 to one year in prison
for an article published online in May 2005, in which he accuses Senator
Jorge Bornhausen of being elitist, bourgeois, fascist and racist. He was
also dismissed from his position as a professor with the Federal University
of Rio de Janeiro.
"ARTICLE 19 urges the São Paulo Court to abide by Brazil's international
obligations in the area of freedom of expression and acquit Professor
Sader. Criminal defamation is an unjustifiable limitation on freedom of
expression, particularly when it results in excessive and disproportional
sanctions as in the case of Professor Sader," said Dr. Agnes Callamard,
executive director of ARTICLE 19.
During a seminar with entrepreneurs in August 2005, Senator Bornhausen was
asked if he was unhappy with the political crisis then faced by the
country, to which he replied that, on the contrary, he was happy because
"we would be free from this race for the next 30 years", referring, as he
later confirmed, to politicians from the Worker's Party (President Lula's
party).
In response to this statement, Professor Sader published an article on the
website of the news agency Carta Maior (where he is a columnist) in which
he accused Senator Bornhausen in the terms above mentioned. Reacting
against the article, Mr. Bornhausen filed a criminal defamation lawsuit
against the professor, based on the defamation provisions of the 1967 Press
Law. After reviewing the case the judge sentenced Professor Sader to the
maximum sanction foreseen for defamation in the Press Law and, in addition,
held that Mr. Sader had taken advantage of his position as a well-known
university professor and had abused his position as civil servant. As a
consequence, the judge also sentenced Professor Sader to dismissal from his
position as a professor with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The
prison sentence was converted (due to compulsory legal provisions) to
community service for 8 hours a day for the same period. The judge stressed
that the plaintiff's prominent position as a Senator should be taken into
consideration when analysing the case, increasing the "wrongdoing" caused
by the published offenses.
Today, the São Paulo Court will review the appeals in the case. Both
plaintiff and defendant, as well as the Public Prosecutor's Office, have
questioned the judge's decision.
ARTICLE 19 considers criminal defamation to constitute an unjustifiable
limitation on freedom of expression. This position is shared by the OAS
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, who has stated that
"(c)riminal defamation is not a justifiable restriction on freedom of
expression; all criminal defamation laws should be abolished and replaced,
where necessary, with appropriate civil defamation laws."
ARTICLE 19 also disagrees with the judge's arguments concerning the
application of greater protection to the reputation of public officials
such as elected senators. International human rights courts have
consistently held that public officials should tolerate more, not less,
criticism than ordinary citizens. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights,
for example, stated that:
"(I)t is logical and appropriate that statements concerning public
officials and other Individuals who exercise functions of a public nature
should be accorded, in the terms of Article 13(2) of the Convention, a
certain latitude in the broad debate on matters of public interest that is
essential for the functioning of a truly democratic system . . . A
different threshold of protection should be applied, which is not based on
the nature of the subject, but on the characteristic of public interest
inherent in the activities or acts of a specific individual. Those
individuals who have an influence on matters of public interest have laid
themselves open voluntarily to a more intense public scrutiny and,
consequently, in this domain, they are subject to a higher risk of being
criticized, because their activities go beyond the private sphere and
belong to the realm of public debate."
ARTICLE 19 is an independent human rights organisation that works globally
to protect and promote the right to freedom of expression. It takes its
name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
guarantees free speech.
For further information, contact ARTICLE 19, 6-8 Amwell Street, London,
EC1R 1UQ, U.K., tel: +44 20 7278 9292, fax: +44 20 7278 7660, e-mail:
info@article19.org, Internet: http://www.article19.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of
ARTICLE 19. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please
credit ARTICLE 19.
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