Lula should remain in prison, rules Brazil appeals court judge

SAO PAULO: The Brazilian appeals court judge responsible for the bribery case that has imprisoned former President Lula da Silva overruled an order to release the leftist icon on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, another appellate judge had issued a decision to free Lula, which was blocked by Federal Judge Sargio Moro, who sent Lula to prison on the corruption conviction. The ensuing decision by appellate Judge Pedro Gebran Neto backed up Moro´s decision to keep Lula in prison.

Earlier, appeals court on Sunday delivered a surprise ruling ordering the release of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 72, who has been jailed since April for corruption and could now be released within hours.

Leftist firebrand Lula — who was convicted of accepting a seaside apartment as a bribe from Brazilian construction company OAS — has been battling to overturn his 12-year sentence in the hopes of making another presidential bid in elections in October.

Judge Rogerio Favreto ruled in favor of several deputies of Lula’s Workers’ Party who on Friday had submitted a habeas corpus application on the former president’s behalf.

On the heels of the ruling, top anti-corruption Judge Sergio Moro — who originally sentenced Lula — said the judge did not have the power to secure the leftist’s release, declaring the decision “monocratic.”

“Lula free now!” read the popular politician’s Twitter account, praising “the end of the illegal imprisonment of Lula.”

But even if released, Lula — who ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2011, leaving office with sky-high ratings — could see his candidacy invalidated by the South American country’s electoral court.