Journalist Ricardo Antunes is in SpainReproduction / Internet
Published 04/28/2024 21:24
Judge Evandro Magalhães Melo, of the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJ-PE), declared himself prevented from judging a request for habeas corpus filed by the defense of journalist Ricardo César do Vale Antunes, who had preventive detention ordered on Friday (26 ), for failing to comply with a court decision that determined the removal of publications on his social networks against the prosecutor Flávio Roberto Falcão Pedrosa.
Ricardo Antunes, whose profiles were also blocked, is in Spain and has not been arrested. The journalist’s defense argues that he is a victim of “censorship” and that there was no failure to comply with the court order, but just a “mistake” by the social media team who did not realize that there was still a call about the news against the prosecutor in the stories of the Instagram.
In the appeal, the lawyers said that the journalist is a first-time offender, has a fixed residence and a legal profession and asked for the arrest to be revoked and the profiles to be released. As an alternative, the defense requested that milder measures be adopted, such as the possible use of an electronic ankle bracelet.
The judge did not even analyze the merits of habeas corpus. “In the case of the case, after a detailed analysis of the case presented to me, I verify that the maintenance of my actions in this case could be interpreted as a violation of my impartiality, for personal reasons, which, respecting the secrecy that surrounds them, , do not need to be explained in detail, as guided by jurisprudence and the understanding summarized by the Superior Courts”, wrote Evandro Magalhães Melo, in an order this Saturday, 27.
Ricardo Antunes is accused of defamation and insult for publishing news about the purchase of land by promoter Flávio Falcão on the island of Fernando de Noronha. In the decision that ordered the journalist’s arrest, judge Andréa Calado da Cruz said she had carried out a search on Google and found that, even after the order to remove the content from the air, there was still a link to the news entitled “Promotor Flávio Falcão and judge André Carneiro in the Judiciary lobby”. Although the news was indexed in the search engine, the content of the report had already been removed.
The judge mentioned that a video was also available on the journalist’s YouTube channel with photos of prosecutor Flávio Falcão and judge André Carneiro with the description “Images reveal promiscuous relationship between judge, prosecutor and businessmen from Noronha”
The judge also stated that the journalist demonstrated “flagrant mockery of the Judiciary” by broadcasting live from Spain moments before the start of the hearing for the trial. He did not participate in the session on the grounds that he would not have access to quality internet.
