Court suspends removal and maintains Flávio’s post that cited ‘trafficking party’

Judge Eustáquio de Castro, of the Federal District Court of Justice, suspended the order to remove a post by senator Flávio Bolsonaro on X that called the PT a “party of drug traffickers”. The judge considered that, in an initial analysis, he saw “no reasons to determine the restriction of freedom of expression”.

The post was published in the context of the police operation in Rio de Janeiro that resulted in the death of 121 people. Castro’s decision overturns an injunction previously granted by a lower court judge who had granted the PT’s request to remove the content from the air.

To the Court, the party’s defense argued that the parliamentarian “exceeded the limits of the conflicting constitutional values, causing offense to the image of the author, which must be prevented to stop the offense”. According to the caption, the offense is not related to parliamentary activity, but rather a personal opinion.

In the decision, Castro highlighted that “freedom of expression is the rule, but its abusive exercise, with damage to the individual rights of third parties, implies an analysis of civil liability and possible compensation for material, moral or image damage”.

He considered that, in the specific case, there was “no presence of risk of serious damage, difficult or impossible to repair” that would justify an injunction, since the electoral period had not started.

For the judge, the ideal is for this type of issue to be examined by the collegiate, and not by an individual judge. “The controversy surrounding the collision of fundamental rights must be resolved in a prudent manner, guiding the harmonious exercise of rights”, he stated.