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“Mocking the foundations of the Christian faith (…) does not support the argument of freedom of expression,” said the prosecutor.
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| Photo: Internet |
A court decision taken by prosecutor Barbara Salomão Spier, from the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office, could set a precedent for the act of vilifying the Christian faith in Brazil to finally be punished according to the full extent of the law.
The prosecutor spoke in favor of suspending the showing of the “Porta dos Fundos Christmas Special: the first temptation of Christ”, shown on the Netflix streaming platform, which caused outrage inside and outside Brazil.
The case judged by Spier was filed by the Dom Bosco Center of Faith and Culture Association. In her ruling to the 16th Civil Court of Rio, the prosecutor states that “what is sacred to one may not be sacred to another, and respect must therefore prevail.” And she continues:
“Mocking the foundations of the Christian faith, so dear to a large part of the Brazilian population, on the eve of one of the most important dates in Christianity, does not support the argument of freedom of expression,” wrote the judge.
“In this case, the defendants’ lack of respect is flagrant, which is unacceptable, as they exceed the limits of freedom of artistic expression,” says the prosecutor, according to Veja.
The prosecutor made it clear that her decision should not be confused with censorship, explaining that there are limits to the use of freedoms, including in the practice of humor. She emphasized that the objective “is to prevent the abuse of the right to freedom of expression through mockery, ridicule (…), one person’s right ends where another’s begins.”
Barbara Salomão Spier requested the immediate suspension of the program, as well as the trailers, making of, and advertisements. If the order is not complied with, the defendants may pay a daily fine of R$150,000.
In addition to the suspension request, the prosecutor also ordered Porta dos Fundos and Netflix to pay a fine for collective moral damages for the period in which the film was shown in the minimum amount of R$2 million.
See an excerpt from the decision below:
