U.S. Tourists Get A Break In Rio

A federal judge has issued an injunction lifting a requirement that U.S. citizens be fingerprinted and photographed upon entering this city, a court official said Monday.

The requirement followed a new U.S. anti-terrorism measure under which foreigners are fingerprinted and photographed upon entering the United States.

Judge Catao Alves of the First Regional Federal Court issued the injunction Friday night in response to an appeal filed by the city of Rio de Janeiro, Alcino Coelho, an aide to the federal judge, said by telephone from Brasilia, the capital.

The injunction only applies to Rio de Janeiro — Brazil's No. 1 tourist destination — because it was the city that filed the appeal.

The announcement came after reports over the weekend that the government would issue an executive order Monday requiring that U.S. citizens be fingerprinted and photographed upon entering Brazil. So far, no executive order has been issued.

The requirement is currently based on the decision of a federal judge in a central western Brazilian state who ordered the additional processing in response to the U.S. measure.

Since Jan. 5, U.S. officials have photographed and fingerprinted all foreigners from countries whose citizens need visas to enter the United States.

U.S. officials have called the Brazilian response discriminatory because it singles out Americans. Brazilian officials have cited the diplomatic principal of reciprocity in justifying the action.