Amazonas General Police Station Erlon Rodrigues/PC-AM The Amazonas Court annulled sections of the Civil Police ordinance that required prior authorization for delegates and investigators to grant interviews or pass on information to the press. The decision was published on May 25, 2026 by judge Leoney Figliuolo Harraquian, from the 2nd Public Finance Court of the District of Manaus. The decision responds to a request from the Union of Professional Journalists in the State of Amazonas (Sinjor/AM), which questioned Ordinance No. 010/2025, published by the General Delegate of the Civil Police, Bruno de Paula Fraga. For the Court, the requirement for prior authorization constituted a mechanism incompatible with the Federal Constitution and the prohibition of censorship. g1 requested a position from the Civil Police and the Government of Amazonas on the Court's decision, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report. ? Join the g1 AM channel on WhatsApp The ordinance, published in June 2025, determined that information about police incidents, including arrests in the act, be centralized by the institution's communications department. Direct contact between police officers and journalists would depend on authorization from the corporation's leadership. In the decision, the judge stated that the organizational power of the public administration does not allow prior prevention of the disclosure of information of public interest. PC-AM determines that delegates speak to the press only with authorization from superiors "The hierarchy serves the operational and administrative organization of the corporation, but does not authorize the interdiction of factual truth or the silencing of public agents", highlighted the magistrate. According to the ruling, control over possible excesses committed by civil servants must occur after the information has been disclosed. If a police officer violates confidentiality or harms an investigation, the conduct may be investigated in a disciplinary process. The Court annulled paragraph 1 of article 1 and item II of article 6 of Ordinance No. 010/2025-GDG/PC. With the decision, the General Delegate is prevented from requiring prior authorization for police officers to provide information about police incidents to the press. The exception is for cases involving investigations under judicial secrecy. In case of non-compliance with the decision, a daily fine of R$5,000 was established, limited to 20 days. The case will still be forwarded to the Amazonas Court of Justice for analysis. Understand the ordinance The Amazonas Civil Police rule had been published on June 23, 2025 and established that delegates and other civil police officers should inform the communications department and the General Delegate of any request for an interview or request for information made by the press. At the time, the Civil Police reported that the measure aimed to prevent the disclosure of confidential data or incorrect information that could compromise investigations. The institution also stated that the ordinance did not interfere with the right to confidentiality of journalistic sources. The court decision was motivated by an action by the Union of Professional Journalists in the State of Amazonas. The entity's president, Wilson Reis, stated that the sentence represents a defense of press freedom. "This decision by the Amazonas Court is a historic milestone in the uncompromising defense of press freedom in our State. What we saw with Ordinance No. 010/2025 was a clear attempt to silence journalistic investigation, something that our 1988 Constitution does not tolerate and that democratic society vehemently rejects. Imposing the need for 'prior authorization' so that police officers could report facts to the press was nothing more than instituting prior censorship through administrative means. The free The exercise of journalism cannot be held hostage by the approval of cabinets or political convenience", he stated.