Brazilian journalist Luan Araújo's imprisonment condemned by press bodies

Press organisations in Brazil, including the Commission of Journalists for Racial Equality (Cojira‑SP) and the National Commission of Journalists for Racial Equality (Conajira/Fenaj), publicly repudiated a court decision that ordered journalist Luan Araújo to serve an open‑regime prison sentence after he failed to pay a R$2,216.30 fine stemming from a defamation conviction.

Araújo was convicted for publishing a text that criticised former deputy Carla Zambelli, calling her part of a "sect of extreme‑right extremists". The judge, José Fernando Steinberg, justified the imprisonment on the basis of non‑payment of the court‑ordered compensation. Araújo, who is unemployed, said he lacks the means to satisfy the fine and appealed for public support.

The case revisits a 2022 incident in which Zambelli brandished a revolver during a confrontation with Araújo, an episode that later led to Zambelli’s conviction by Brazil’s Supreme Court for illegal firearm possession and illegal coercion. Zambelli’s attempted extradition to Italy was ultimately overturned by the Roman Court of Appeal.