Vacationer Accused Of Racist Acts Whereas Visiting Brazil Launched

[ad_1] by Jameelah Mullen February 19, 2026

FAFO—the vacationer version

Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro requested the preventive detention of Agostina Páez, the Argentine lawyer accused of constructing racial slurs whereas vacationing in Brazil. A decide authorised the request, and the authorities took Páez into custody. They launched her just a few hours later.

Police arrested the 29‑12 months‑previous in mid‑January after an incident at a bar in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood. Páez allegedly hurled racist insults at employees throughout a dispute over the invoice. Witnesses say she additionally made monkey sounds and gestures, an act that's an arrestable offense in Brazil. Restaurant workers referred to as the police, and officers took the girl into custody.

Officers charged Páez with “injúria racial,” which roughly interprets to “racial slur.” Brazilian regulation treats racial insults as critical crimes that can lead to sentences of as much as 5 years in jail. The prosecutors’ Workplace confiscated Páez’s passport, required her to put on an ankle monitor, and argued that the measures weren’t sufficient.

“Though precautionary measures apart from imprisonment have been imposed, together with digital monitoring, these measures haven't confirmed enough to neutralize the prevailing procedural hazard,” stated the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor’s Workplace in an announcement obtained by Brazilian Information outlet UOL.

The Apolo Basis filed a petition on Páez’s behalf searching for to raise the journey ban, which might enable the defendant to return to Argentina to await trial. The authorized workforce claims that Páez poses no flight danger and that prosecutors imposed disproportionately harsh measures on her.

“Her rights are being violated, and Brazil is in breach of a number of worldwide treaties ratified by each Argentina and Brazil,” stated Fundación Apolo legal professional Nicolás Silvera, accusing the police of utilizing her to “make an instance.”

The Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Workplace argues that an individual accompanying Páez allegedly tried to cease her from making the profane gestures, which, in line with the prosecution, confirmed that she understood the seriousness of the crime.

The incident sparked a social media debate, with some supporting the nation’s strict legal guidelines and others downplaying the crime.

– Be Agostina Páez 🇦🇷

– Spend years learning worldwide regulation

– Change into a lawyer in Argentina

– Journey to Brazil on trip

– Ignore native legal guidelines & get arrested for racism

– Passport seized & given ankle monitor

– Cry on the web since you face 5 years in a Brazilian jail pic.twitter.com/HFZNbz0UFh

— BowTiedPassport (@BowTiedPassport) February 17, 2026

“Like it when individuals study the exhausting manner, it gained’t cease her from being racist, however it might positively cease her from protecting her depravity to herself,” one X person wrote.

“Arrested for racism? Don’t they've extra critical points in Brazil, like excessive poverty?” a commentator wrote.

Following her launch, Páez resumed her earlier association, which requires her to stay in Brazil and put on an ankle monitor. Brazilian officers haven't but set a trial date.