Trudeau blasted by Brazilian magazine and Amnesty International

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, usually a media darling on the internationalstage, found himself on the receiving end ofattacks by a Braziliancolumnistand a global humanrights group in recent weeks.

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Vejamagazine and Amnesty International both came out swinging against the prime minister the former blasting him as a "narcissistic" pretty boy who is soft on terror,and the latter criticizing him for not doing enough to rescue a jailed Saudiblogger.

Usually, when Canada's prime minister makesinternational headlines, it'sfor his advancedyoga poses, "spellbinding eyes"or "message of optimism."

But Brazilian national magazineVejawhich usually dedicates its largely conservative pages to calling for the ouster of PresidentDilmaRousseffover allegations she manipulatedbudget accountsto boostherre-election campaign cast acritical eye onCanada'sleader over the weekend.

In the article, roughly translated as"JustinTrudeauis cute,but veryordinary: Everything is wrong with Canada's prime minister,except his appearance," columnistVilmaGryzinskipaints Canada'shead of government asa shallow aristocratleading an"organized" countrydown thepath to destruction.

Gryzinski blasts the filmmakers behind thebiographical filmGod Save Justin Trudeauand thereporters who cover Trudeau as"sycophantic," andcalls theprime minister"the embodiment of vaguely leftist and confusingly well-intentioned liberalist dreams."

She largelyfocuses onTrudeau'sphysical appearance, reproachinghim for"shameless parading" his good looks and posing for photos, specifically referencing a yoga picture that made international headlines last month.

Gryzinskialso criticizedTrudeauforpulling fighter jets out of Iraq and Syria and opening Canada's borders to 25,000 Syrian refugees, asserting that he would"support any insanity, including terrorism, when committed in the name of the Muslim religion."

The columnist only pullsher punches from the prime minister long enough to take aim at his mother MargaretTrudeau, whom she accuses of "abandoningher children" in a wild anddrug-addled youth.

• ANALYSIS|Let's give Margaret Trudeau the respect she deserves

Amnesty International calls PM's remarks 'indelicate'

Amnesty International also had tough words for Trudeau on Thursday, though not quite so inflammatory as the Brazilian columnist's scathing hitpiece.

The human rights group criticized the prime ministerfor suggesting the Canadiangovernment needs to tread warily in its bid to help secure the release ofjailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi.

Badawi, who is not Canadian but whose wife lives in Quebec with their three children, was arrested in 2012 for his criticism of Saudi clerics and was convicted in 2014.He was sentenced to 10 years in jail as well as 1,000 lashes. He received the first 50 in January 2015 but has not been whipped since.

"Obviously we want to be able to help," Trudeau said in an interview with Montreal radio station 98.5 FM."Sometimes, pushing too hard, too quickly has harmful consequences for the people you want to try to help."

Trudeau's assertion that Global Affairs Canada is working hard on the file did little to placate Amnesty spokeswoman Anne Sainte-Marie, who accused him of lacking tact.

"Too quickly?" she said. "What is the Trudeau government's cruising speed? Does it mean waiting for himto have spent 10 years in prison?

"His 'too hard, too quickly' seems a bit indelicate.... It's a bit indecent on Mr. Trudeau's part."