Brazil judge blocks Lula release order
July 8, 2018
The chief justice of a Brazilian appeals court blocked another judge's ruling to release Brazilian ex-President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva from prison on Sunday.
Chief Justice of the TRF-4 appeals court Carlos Eduardo Thompson Flores granted the request from prosecutors to keep Lula in prison, blocking an earlier Sunday ruling from Appeals Judge Rogerio Favreto. Judge Favreto of the Fourth Regional Federal Court in the southern city of Porto Alegre had granted a habeas corpus decision for Lula, citing a lack of legal grounds to keep the ex-president in prison.
The contradictory rulings come just three months after Lula's arrest was ordered by the Brazilian Supreme Court. He had been serving a 12-year sentence for his alleged involvement in a major corruption case.
Read more: Who is Brazil's ex-president Lula?
If Favreto's ruling had stood it would have allowed Lula to leave prison while he awaits the result of an appeal on his conviction. It would have been a major victory for the former president, who has maintained his innocence and is hoping to run in the October presidential elections.
Brazilian federal judge Sergio Moro had threatened to block the move, saying to reporters that Judge Favreto "did not have the authority" to grant Lula's freedom. Appeals judge Joao Gebran Neto echoed Moro's assertion and blocked the Favreto ruling, forbidding federal police from releasing the ex-president.
The former president's legal team had argued that Lula should be allowed to remain free until all legal appeals in the case had been exhausted.
Read more: Lula: Brazil's bitter divide personified
Electoral ambitions
The fate of Lula's candidacy in the October elections is still in the hands of an electoral court.
Read more: Opinion: What path will Brazil take?
A June survey of voters confirmed Lula's persistent popularity. According to polling agency "Datafolha," Lula was leading the presidential election race with 31 percent of likely voters.
The former president held a 13 percent advantage over his closest opponent, conservative candidate Jair Bolsonaro. But Brazilians were also ambivalent, with 20 percent having no preferred candidate.
lw, jcg/se (EFE, AFP, AP Reuters)