The National Federation of Journalists, FENAJ, and the Union of Professional Journalists of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro issued a note repudiating the allegations of a plan to intimidate and attack journalist Lauro Jardim, columnist for the newspaper O Globo.
The entities state that “this is a direct attack on press freedom, the right to information and the fundamental pillars of democracy”. The note also says that “any attempt at intimidation, threat or violence against journalists is not an isolated fact, but part of an environment of constant hostility against the press in Brazil. Attacking a journalist is attacking the entire society, which depends on free, critical and independent information.”
The entities demand a rigorous investigation of the facts, the accountability of all those involved and the adoption of effective measures to protect communication professionals”.
The conversations were revealed in a Federal Police report. In the dialogue, Vorcaro quotes the columnist from the newspaper O Globo, stating: “We had to have people following this guy. To get everything from him.” In another excerpt, the banker adopts a harsher speech: “I want to order him to be beaten. Break all his teeth. In a robbery”.
