Ex-secretary targeted by police claims Moraes' decision threatens press work

Raimundo Cutrim, former Public Security Secretary of Maranhão, Brazil, stated Wednesday that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has set a dangerous precedent that threatens the work of the press. The previous day, Moraes ordered searches and seizures against Cutrim, who is alleged to be the source of information published by a blogger regarding the use of official vehicles by Minister Flávio Dino's family.

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The source confidentiality is an express guarantee of the Constitution, and the measure establishes a precedent that threatens not only the press but any citizen who communicates facts of public interest to a journalist.

Cutrim's lawyers, José Berilo de Freitas Leite Filho and José Berilo de Freitas Leite Neto, asserted that source confidentiality is a constitutional guarantee. They argued that the measure not only jeopardizes the press but also any citizen who communicates public interest facts to a journalist. The lawyers noted that the investigation focuses on who revealed the irregularity rather than the irregularity itself.

In a joint statement, the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (Abert), the National Newspaper Association (ANJ), and the National Association of Magazine Publishers (Aner) declared that judicial actions breaking source confidentiality lack constitutional support. They warned that such actions create precedents that endanger press freedom, which is protected by the Constitution. The Institute of Lawyers of São Paulo (Iasp) also voiced concerns regarding the case.

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We investigate who revealed the irregularity, but not the irregularity itself.

According to reports, Justice Moraes has issued at least four decisions favoring Minister Flávio Dino and his allies in Maranhão, a state Moraes governed for two terms. The current governor, Carlos Brandão, is reportedly at odds with the magistrate. This situation has drawn significant attention to the intersection of judicial power, political influence, and the protection of journalistic sources in Brazil.

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Judicial actions that break source confidentiality have no constitutional basis and set precedents that threaten freedom of the press, protected by the Constitution.