| Brazilian federal prosecutors have charged the American journalist Glenn Greenwald for cybercrimes in a decision which has prompted outrage among press freedom activists – and celebration by allies of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

The prosecutors said that Greenwald “helped, encouraged and guided” a group of hackers who obtained cellphone messages between leading figures in Brazil’s mammoth Car Wash anti-corruption investigation.

The leaks, subsequently published in several stories on the investigative site the Intercept Brazil, which Greenwald co-founded, appeared to show collusion between then judge Sérgio Moro and prosecutors and exacerbated questions of political bias of the investigations. Moro was subsequently named justice minister by Bolsonaro.

“It’s not just Glenn and his family’s safety which are threatened by this, but all journalists and freedom of speech in Brazil. This is an attempt to intimidate the press in general,” said Rogério Sottili, the executive director of the Vladimir Herzog Institute, an NGO that advocates for democracy, human rights and press freedom. | ~ The Guardian, “Brazilian prosecutors charge journalist Glenn Greenwald with cybercrimes” by Sam Cowie in São Paulo