STF revokes decision that took down report on Dallagnol's ineligibility

In a significant decision for press freedom in Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino has revoked an electoral court's order that mandated the removal of a news report concerning the ineligibility of former Lava Jato prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol. The initial ruling by the Electoral Justice of Paraná not only demanded the report's retraction but also imposed fines on the media outlet and prohibited any future coverage of the matter.

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The determination to remove journalistic content, without due demonstration of its manifest illegality, constitutes a measure of an exceptional nature, which may imply prior censorship, forbidden by the Federal Constitution.

Justice Dino's ruling emphasized that removing journalistic content without clear evidence of illegality constitutes an exceptional measure that could amount to prior censorship, which is explicitly forbidden by the Brazilian Federal Constitution. He found that the report did not create false information or make accusations unrelated to the Electoral Court's actual decisions. Consequently, the fines were suspended, and the report was permitted to be circulated, a victory for journalistic independence.

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The content did not contain 'autonomous creation of untrue facts or imputations dissociated from the content effectively decided by the Electoral Court'.

However, the decision also noted that while the report can be published, Dino dismissed the claim that Dallagnol's party, Novo, is engaging in judicial harassment through multiple lawsuits. He stated that the mere multiplicity of legal actions is not sufficient, in itself, to constitute judicial harassment. This aspect of the ruling may leave room for continued legal challenges against media reporting on Dallagnol's political activities. From the perspective of Estadão, while celebrating the protection of journalistic freedom, we must remain vigilant about the potential for strategic litigation to stifle public discourse, especially concerning figures like Dallagnol, who remains a prominent political actor seeking a Senate seat.

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The mere multiplicity of judicial actions, in itself, does not appear sufficient to establish the so-called judicial harassment.