A Brazilian court on Thursday ordered the lawmaker son of President Jair Bolsonaro to pay damages to a journalist after claiming she had "tried to seduce" a source to obtain compromising information about the far-right leader.

Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro "attacked the honor" of journalist Patricia Campos Mello, "questioning the seriousness of her journalism and of her employer," the highly respected daily Folha de S.Paulo, the court said.

The 36-year-old was ordered to pay 30,000 reais ($5,600) in compensation for moral damage.

Eduardo Bolsonaro had claimed on YouTube last May that Campos Mello had tried to seduce an employee of a digital marketing company to obtain information.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's son Eduardo Bolsonaro "attacked the honor" of journalist Patricia Campos Mello, "questioning the seriousness of her journalism and of her employer," the highly respected daily Folha de S.Paulo, a court said
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's son Eduardo Bolsonaro "attacked the honor" of journalist Patricia Campos Mello, "questioning the seriousness of her journalism and of her employer," the highly respected daily Folha de S.Paulo, a court said AFP / EVARISTO SA

He also claimed the award-winning journalist had been promoted for publishing false information. He then reiterated his statements on Twitter.

The lawmaker took particular aim at an investigation that Campos Mello worked on, into an organization that slandered Jair Bolsonaro's opponents on WhatsApp during his 2018 presidential campaign.

The judge noted that Eduardo Bolsonaro, "occupying such an important national position... and being the son of the current president of the Republic... had to be more careful in his statements."

"It's a great day," Campos Mello said after the court's decision, which can still be appealed.

Jair Bolsonaro himself launched attacks on the journalist last February, insinuating that she had offered sex with a source in exchange for negative information about him.

WhatsApp