MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Judge halts TV airing of documents linked to activist Marielle Franco's murder

Marielle Franco was shot dead on March 14.

Documents about the killing of black rights activist Marielle Franco have been banned from being broadcast by a Brazilian judge at the request of Rio's prosecutor and the Civil Police, who are in charge of the Franco investigation.

TV Globo, the country's biggest TV channel, gained access to extracts from investigative reports last week, and said it had broadcast reports on two subjects though “without showing elements that can pose a risk to witnesses and to the investigation” -- in keeping with its editorial guidelines, but the gag order will now prevent the airing of any further documents

Franco, a charismatic city council member in Rio de Janeiro and a champion of gay, transgender, and black rights, was shot dead professional style along with her driver on March 14 in what caused an international outcry.

“Diffusion of contents linked to the investigation is prejudicial, in so far as it exposes personal data of witnesses and harms the investigation,” Judge Gustavo Gomes Kalil in Rio said in a ruling.

TV Globo said it would respect the order, but would file an appeal as it believed the ruling “seriously violated freedom of the press and the right of the population to information, especially on a case that has elicited great interest in Brazil and abroad.”

Brazil's Association of Investigative Journalists (ABRAJI) condemned what it termed “censorship.”

In early November, Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann said the government had received “serious accusations” from two witnesses of “a criminal organization” trying to obstruct the Franco investigation.

It allegedly involves “public agents from various state entities, militia members and figures from the world of organized crime,” he told a press conference, adding that the witnesses were given police protection.

Franco was an outspoken critic of police brutality in Rio, and what she said was the targeting of blacks in favelas. Her case's importance was rekindled after the presidential election victory of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, notorious for his derogatory comments against women, blacks and gays.