Former President of Brazil Lula Da Silva is Freed from Prison by Supreme Court
Brazil’s former President had been sentenced to 12 years in jail. (Flickr)
After being sentenced to 12 years in jail for money laundering, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was freed on November 8 by the Brazilian Supreme Court after spending a year and a half in prison, according to the New York Times. A founding member of the Workers’ Party, which remained in power for fourteen years, Lula Da Silva was Brazil’s 35th President and governed the country from 2002 until 2010.
The New York Times names Lula as "one of the most popular presidents in Brazilian history", and notes that the former president remains one of the only opposition figures who is currently able to "mobilize the masses."
Lula had been condemned due to his involvement in several corruption scandals, including a wide-ranging money laundering investigation into Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras, dubbed "Operation Car Wash". The same operation has been responsible for the conviction and arrests of several other important political and economic figures in Brazil. Accusations against Lula were first brought to light in 2011, after he had left the presidency, CNN reports, but Lula was only tried for the crimes and found guilty of the charges in July 2017.
Lula has always insisted he was innocent, and his defense branded his verdict a case of "political persecution", according to CNN.
This November, however, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that “a person can only be imprisoned once all appropriate avenues of appeal are exhausted.” This allowed Lula, who has a pending appeal on multiple charges of corruption, to be set free while they continue processing these allegations.
Moments after stepping out of prison, Lula gathered thousands of his supporters for a speech announcing his return to the country’s politics and promising to “save the country from ultra-right president Jair Bolsonaro,” the Financial Times reports. In addition, Lula also attacked the press and vowed to help " liberate Brazil from the madness that is happening in our country", according to the Guardian. It is expected that Lula will run for president again.
In a country plagued by corruption, many consider the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the previous ruling unconstitutional. Lula’s return to the political arena is causing divisions as the population becomes more polarized; President Bolsonaro responded to Lula's release by calling him a "scoundrel" on his Twitter account.
In recent audio leaks, it appears that the judge who convicted Lula did so in a partial manner, according to The Guardian. The judge now serves as Bolsonaro’s Minister of Justice. Lula responded, saying “They tried to criminalize the left.” He later added, “They didn’t lock up a man, they tried to kill an idea. But an idea can’t be destroyed.”
The Supreme Court is now investigating potential conflicts of interest with the ruling of Lula’s case, according to The New Yorker. In the meantime, Lula continues to gather supporters for an anticipated presidential run.