"Racial offence disguised as jocular remarks or mere jokes, linking Black power hair to insects associated with disgust and dirt, harms the honour and dignity of Black people and reinforces the stigma of inferiority of this population, said judge Roger Raupp Rios. The judge stressed the gravity of the remarks was heightened by the fact they were made by the country's sitting president. The conviction stemmed from a case filed by public prosecutors and the public defender's office, citing three separate remarks made by Bolsonaro in 2021 during livestreams with supporters outside the presidential palace."
"In addition to the cockroach comment, the former president also suggested the supporter had lice. What do you breed in that mop of hair? the then president asked the man."
"Prosecutors argued Bolsonaro's so-called jokes went beyond personal insult, constituting stigmatising offences and intolerance against the entire Black population."
A federal appeals court in Rio Grande do Sul ordered Jair Bolsonaro to pay R$1m in collective moral damages for racist remarks made in 2021. Judges found comments equating a Black supporter’s afro to cockroaches and suggesting lice amounted to recreational racism that harms the honour and dignity of Black people. The conviction arose from a case filed by public prosecutors and the public defender's office citing three livestream remarks. Bolsonaro's defence said there was no racist intent and the supporter said he was not offended. The appeal court unanimously convicted Bolsonaro and reduced the fine from R$10m.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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