Brazil's Leo Lins 'is being treated like a drug trafficker'

A Brazilian comedian has been jailed for eight years and three months for making offensive jokes in a stand-up special.

A federal court in São Paulo said Leo Lins’s work contributed to ‘the spread of verbal violence in society and promotion of intolerance’.

The Brazilian government  brought the case, saying the comedian’s material targetted  black people, the obese, elderly people, those living with HIV, LGBT people, evangelicals, Indigenous communities, people from the impoverished northeast of Brazil, Jews  and people with disabilities.

His lawyers criticised the ruling, saying in a statement: ‘This is a sad chapter for freedom of expression in Brasil.

‘Watching a comedian receive the same punishment as someone convicted of drug trafficking, corruption, or even murder, all because of jokes told on stage, is deeply troubling.’

Judge Barbara de Lima Iseppi ruled that ‘dignity’ trumped the right to free speech, saying: ‘The place of humour is not a lawless land.’

She added: : ‘In the event of a conflict between the fundamental precept of freedom of expression and the principles of human dignity and legal equality, the latter must prevail.’

Lins – who has performed Portuguese-language shows in Leicester Square Theatre and Top Secret Comedy Club in London – was also fined around £40,000 for moral damages.

Two years ago, a court ordered Lins, now 42, to remove the offending special – Perturbador (or ‘Distruptor’) – from YouTube, but not before being viewed more than 3million times. At the time Lins said the move ‘set a dangerous precedent for comedy and art in general’.

Published: 5 Jun 2025