This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Olympic controls on freedom of speech have been challenged by a Brazilian judge who has ordered Rio 2016 organisers to allow peaceful protests inside stadiums.

The preliminary ruling on Monday night came after several spectators were expelled from Olympic arenas for displaying anti-government banners and T-shirts that highlighted the country’s ongoing political turmoil.

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The federal deputy judge, João Augusto Carneiro de Araújo, ordered Rio 2016 organisers to “refrain immediately” from the repression of peaceful demonstrations, which are guaranteed by Brazil’s constitution. He imposed a penalty of 10,000 reais (£2,300) for violations of his order.

Rio 2016 is challenging the judgment, saying it contravenes the host nation agreement and Brazil’s Olympic law, which bans “flags for purposes other than the festive and friendly event.”

The judge disputes this, saying the law only specifically prohibits offensive, racist, xenophobic or discriminatory messages, and “does not appear to ban peaceful demonstrations of a political nature through posters, use of T-shirts and other lawful means in official sites of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016”.

The legal battle will touch on the thorny issue of whether the International Olympic Committee’s conditions on host nations override sovereignty and basic rights. Olympic organisers are keen to keep Brazil’s political upheaval outside the sporting arenas.

The Rio 2016 director of communications Mario Andrada said: “We have the right to ask for a reconsideration from the judge, which we did. Meanwhile, we will fully respect the injunction. We just believe that sport venues are not the place for political, religious or racial protests or manifestations.”

The International Olympic Association’s director of communications, Mark Adams, added: “The Games should not become a platform for political debate.”

The country is deeply divided over the ongoing impeachment of Workers’ party president Dilma Rousseff, who is on trial in the Senate for alleged budget irregularities. Her supporters claim this is a “coup” and have focused their anger on her replacement, the interim president Michel Temer.

Protests on this – and other issues – disrupted the relay of the Olympic torch, which was extinguished by demonstrators on several occasions in the week before the Games.

To minimise the political backlash, organisers did not announce Temer at the opening ceremony and kept his welcome speech to less than 10 seconds. Even so, he was roundly booed.

Since then, ticket-holders have been ejected in several venues for displaying “Fora Temer” (Temer Out) placards and T-shirts. Video clips of people being thrown out by security guards have prompted outrage. To get around the ban, some have also made signs saying “Fora Vcs Sabe Quem” (You Know Who Out).

The clampdown is consistent with previous Olympics. Part of the hosting agreement is a ban on political signs and commercial advertising other than those of the official sponsors.

Rule 50 of the International Olympic Committee charter says: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” Similar restrictions were imposed before the World Cup and went unchallenged.

The influential sports columnist Juca Kfouri, wrote that the expulsions were an example of “repressive stupidity” and would only serve to encourage new protests.

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The suspended president Rousseff called the restrictions characteristic of a subtle tightening of critical debate. “It is strange that people cannot speak out in the Maracanã and Deodoro,” said the Workers’ party leader, who was herself booed during the opening of the World Cup in 2014.

Her removal from office is expected to move a step closer in the next two days, when the Senate will decide whether she should face a final vote, which could come as early as the end of this month.

Global unease about Brazil’s political situation was apparent in the low attendance by heads of state at this Olympics. Only 30 national leaders were at the opening ceremony, compared to 70 in London and 80 in Beijing. Among the absentees was the US president Barack Obama, who was represented by his secretary of state John Kerry.