A court of justice ordered the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to pay damages to a journalist after claiming she had "tried to seduce" a source to obtain compromising information about his Father.
The federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro "attacked the honour" of journalist Patricia Campos Mello, "questioning the seriousness of her journalism and of her employer," the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper according to the court.
The 36-year-old was ordered by the Court of First Instance judge to pay 30,000 reais (US$5,600) to Campos Mellos in compensation for moral damage.
The lawmaker voiced his accusations against the journalist on YouTube, claiming she had tried to seduce an employee of a digital marketing company to obtain information.
The Deputy also claimed the award-winning journalist had been promoted for publishing false information, pointing to a particular investigation carried out by the Folha de S.Paulo in which Campos Mello participated.
The investigation involved looking into an organisation that spread false news on WhatsApp against the leftist Workers Party (PT) during the 2018 electoral campaign, which his far-right father ended up winning.
The judge noted that Eduardo Bolsonaro, "occupying such an important national position... and being the son of the current president of the Republic... had to be more careful in his statements."
”It's a great day," Campos Mello said after the court's decision, which can still be appealed.
The president of Brazil himself also launched attacks on the journalist last February, insinuating that she had offered sex with a source in exchange for negative information about him.
– TIMES/AFP
by AF
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