CPJ urges Brazilian authorities to return equipment seized from journalist in Maranhão

São Paulo, March 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Brazilian authorities to end the police investigation against journalist Luís Pablo Conceição Almeida, known as Luís Pablo, and return personal equipment seized from his house on March 10 by order of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) Judge Alexandre de Moraes.

The Federal Police raided Luís Pablo’s house in São Luís, the capital of Maranhão, in the northeast region, and seized a notebook and cell phones after STF Judge Flávio Dino accused the journalist of “stalking” in connection with three November 2025 blog posts alleging the misuse of an official state court vehicle by the judge’s family.

“It’s outrageous that a journalist would be silenced by the country’s highest court simply for doing his job—reporting on a matter of public interest. Such an action disregards the Constitution, which protects both freedom of the press and the confidentiality of journalistic sources,” said Cristina Zahar, Latin America program coordinator. “No public official should weaponize the justice system to retaliate against critical reporting. We hope that Luís Pablo has his equipment returned promptly and without any violations.”

On Monday, Luís Pablo’s attorney, Marcos Alessandro Coutinho Passos Lobo, sent a petition, reviewed by CPJ, asking the Brazilian Bar Association to adopt administrative and legal measures to “immediately cease the abusive, unconstitutional, non-conventional, and illegal acts” against his client.

Lobo also called for Luís Pablo’s equipment to be returned in its entirety since it contains information on sources and materials gathered for a news report on Judge Dino’s political and electoral activities in Maranhão.” On March 14, Luís Pablo confirmed he was working on the report in an interview with the independent news channel BandNews.

During a March 13 testimony given to the Federal Police, the journalist remained silent claiming his constitutional rights as a journalist to not disclose his sources.

The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism classified the seizure as “a troubling precedent for the practice of journalism in Brazil.”

Despite the investigation being under judicial secrecy, CPJ sent emails for the STF press office asking for Moraes and Dino to comment on the case but did not receive an immediate response.