Ex-President Lula Defies Deadline to Surrender to Brazil Police
6 April 2018
Brazil’s embattled former President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva has defied a court order to turn himself into Curitiba police by 5 p.m. local time today to commence his 12-year jail sentence for corruption, effectively triggering a stand-off between the presidential hopeful and Brazilian authorities.
Earlier on Friday, lawyers representing the man who dominated Brazilian politics between 2003 and 2011 submitted a fresh habeas corpus writ after his previous bid to avoid incarceration while his appeals play out was shot down by a 6-5 vote in the Supreme Court shortly after midnight Wednesday.
That writ was later rejected by Brazil’s top appeals court: the decision was announced in a court document less than an hour before Lula’s deadline to turn himself in to authorities.
Lula’s lawyers are also believed to be presenting a precautionary measure before the United Nations Human Rights Committee in order to stop the detention until the judicial process is exhausted.
Read more at https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ex-President-Lula-Defies-Deadline-to-Surrender-to-Brazil-Police-20180406-0010.html
Brazilians take over the streets in defense of Lula
April 6,2018
On Wednesday, April 4, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) ruled on whether or not to grant habeas corpus to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva while he appeals his conviction in the Lava Jato (Car Wash) corruption case. Close to midnight, the last judge cast their vote, denying the habeas corpus.
On Thursday, Sérgio Moro, the federal judge heading the Lava Jato investigation, gave Lula until 5 p.m. on Friday to present himself to the Federal Police of Curitiba to begin his 12-year sentence.
Moro’s declaration caused an uproar both within Brazil and internationally. Major international media organizations have denounced the latest decision as a sign of the decay of Brazilian democracy. For example, an op-ed in the New York Times was titled ‘Brazil’s Democracy Pushed Into the Abyss.’
Read more at http://www.thedawn-news.org/2018/04/06/brazilians-take-over-the-streets-in-defense-of-lula/
Supporters Pledge to ‘Fight’ Brazil Court’s Vote to Jail Lula
5 April 2018
Social leaders and politicians across the world are voicing their discontent with the Supreme Court of Brazil’s decision to deny former President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva’s habeas corpus petition, in effect paving the way for his detention on corruption charges.
“No strip of land will be free of occupation; we won’t give up! There’s not a single public building that we won’t occupy!” said Alexandre Conceicao of the Rural Landless Movement, or MST.
Speaking in the Brazilian capital Brasilia shortly after the supreme court’s decision, he evoked the words of slain Black leaders such as Martin Luther King and Marielle Franco in calling for social movements to initiate “Red April”: “The waltz is over. From now on it’s punching, it’s war, it’s a struggle and we will win.”
The Workers’ Party, or PT, and Socialism and Liberty Party, or PSOL, released official statements lamenting the court’s ruling.
Read more at https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Supporters-Pledge-to-Fight-Brazil-Courts-Vote-to-Jail-Lula-20180405-0002.html
