Luan Araújo was convicted of defamation; sentence was converted into open prison after non-payment of fine
The TJ-SP (Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo) ordered the open arrest of journalist Luan Araújo, convicted of defamation against Carla Zambelli (PL-SP). The decision was published on Monday (June 1, 2026). Here’s the (29,3 KB).
Araújo was in 2022 by Zambelli, who pointed a firearm at the journalist. He was convicted of defamation after publishing a text criticizing the then congresswoman.
Judge José Fernando Steinberg decided to arrest Araújo, as the journalist did not pay the fine imposed upon his conviction.
On his Instagram profile, Araújo said he considered the conviction unfair and declared he did not have the money to pay the amount.
“Despite her conviction in the STF, she will not need to serve her sentence there in Europe, free. Meanwhile, I’m having to fundraise to be able to file a lawsuit for moral damages against her. I consider myself a spiritual person, who trusts that divine justice will happen. But there are certain things that make me hopeless”, he stated.
Here is Luan’s statement:
📹 Justice orders the arrest of journalist persecuted by Zambelli in 2022
⚖️Judge José Fernando Steinberg, from the TJ-SP (São Paulo Court of Justice), ordered the open arrest of journalist Luan Araújo, convicted of defaming former federal deputy Carla Zambelli.…
— Poder360 (@Poder360)
PERSECUTION AND CONDEMNATION
The journalist was convicted in June 2024. At the time, he received an 8-month open sentence, which was later converted into community service.
Before the 2022 elections, Zambelli chased the journalist, a black man, with a gun in São Paulo.
After the episode, Araújo published the text “Whether or not he loses his mandate, the harm that Zambelli did to me remains unpunished” no site DCM (Diary of the Center of the World).
In the text, the journalist says that the former deputy “continues with a sect of extreme right-wing patients who follow it unconditionally and continues to commit atrocities after atrocities“. Zambelli sued Araújo and the text was taken down.
“For me, a poor black man with enormous problems, that day did not end. He makes a point of lasting days and days until today. In a cruel way. For her, a white woman with connections to powerful people, it was just another space to play the classic trick of a petty, malicious and death-merchant extreme right.“, he wrote.
O Poder360 He contacted Carla Zambelli via WhatsApp message and telephone to ask if she would like to speak out about the case. There was no response until the publication of this report. The text will be updated if a manifestation is sent.
