Brazil: Comedian Jailed for 8 Years over 'Forbidden' Jokes

A Brazil: comedian jailed for 8 years over 'forbidden' jokes court in Brazil handed down an eight year jail sentence to comedian Leonardo Lins Tuesday for jokes he told in a YouTube video, according to Brazilian media.

The video from 2022, which was titled “Disturbing,” apparently “[contained] prejudiced statements against black people, obese people, the elderly, HIV-positive people, homosexuals, indigenous people, people from the Northeast, evangelicals, Jews and people with disabilities,” according to Brazilian outlet O Globo.

The 3rd Federal Criminal Court of Sao Paulo reportedly handed Leo a particularly harsh penalty of eight years and three months in prison — citing a “large number of social groups hit” — in addition to a fine of 303,600 Brazilian Real, which exchanges for over $54,000 at present rates.

A court order compelled YouTube to remove Lin’s video in 2023, according to O Globo. At the time, the video reportedly had over 3 million views.

Lins’ team plans to appeal, according to a statement obtained by the outlet.

The Supreme Court originally overturned a lower court ruling criminalizing Lin’s speech on Sept. 28, 2023.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, whose actions led to bans on social media platforms like X in Brazil, initially defended Lin’s rights along with other justices on the court.

The Court argued that audiences expect to see potentially offensive content at a comedy show.

“Laughter, jest, hyperbolic distortion of reality, and often abrasive, mocking, and controversial criticism, sometimes offensive and frequently lacking any commitment to politically correct ideals, prevail—as is precisely what consumers of such events expect,” the Court wrote in its initial ruling, according to Columbia University’s Center for Global Freedom of Expression.

But a new rule instituted by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2023 significantly increased the penalties for “hate speech,” according to Brazilian outlet Gazeta Do Povo. The law “equated racial [slurs] with the crime of racism,” the outlet reported.

The law started to classify “the telling of jokes about any groups that can be considered [minority]” as racism, according to Gazeta Do Povo. Under the statute, racism can potentially carry a harsher penalty than kidnapping, the outlet reported.

Punishments for kidnapping vary depending on the severity of the crime. Kidnapping someone for a short duration of time is typically punished between six and 12 years of imprisonment, providing the victim is not harmed, according to Brazil’s penal code.

Brazil’s Congress passed Law 7716/89 to increase racism from a “contravention” — similar to a misdemeanor — to a crime, according to Rio On Watch.

“Under the 1988 Constitution Brazil also recognizes that freedom of expression, a constitutionally guaranteed right, is not absolute in cases of racial prejudice,” the outlet reported.

It was under Lula’s racism law that Judge Barbara de Lima Iseppi issued the ruling and Lin’s sentencing, according to Gazeta Do Povo.