Lawyer: Charges sought by police against Lula fictitious and politically biased

Cristiano Zanin says Lula and Marisa Letícia are not the owners of the

Published on 27/08/2016 - 11:27 By Elaine Patricia Cruz reports from Agência Brasil - São Paulo

Cristiano Zanin Martins, lawyer for former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife Marisa Letícia, said it strikes him as noteworthy that actions under Operation Car Wash which target his client always conducted at key moments in the country's politics, referring to the conclusion of the impeachment trial of suspended President Dilma Rousseff at the Senate. On Friday (Aug. 26), the Federal Police sought charges of passive corruption, misrepresentation, and money laundering against Lula and Marisa Letícia as part of an investigation into the acquisition of a triplex apartment in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo.

Lula e deputado Orlando Silva no Aeroporto de Congonhas (Reprodução/Twitter/Orlando Silva)

In March, Lula was coercively taken by the Federal Police for questioning under Operation Car Wash.Reprodução/Twitter/Orlando Silva

In March, shortly before the motion for Rousseff's impeachment was approved by the lower house, Lula was coercively taken by the Federal Police for questioning at the Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo, under Operation Car Wash.

“There is a very strong political element to it, as he has been the victim of arbitrary acts, carried out with purposes strange to the case, like the release of intercepted conversations[…], concomitant with the political moments of the country,” said the lawyer.

Martins further stated that Federal Police Commissioner Marcio Adriano Anselmo, who penned the investigation report, is in no condition to conduct a probe against his client, as he has proved biased against Lula on social media. “It is very clear that this person is not neutral, and it would be his duty under the law to declare himself partial,” he declared.

OAS property

According to Anselmo, Lula and his wife were the “beneficiaries of unlawful advantages” in the refurbishment of the apartment and the storage of goods belonging to the former president in a deposit.

The couple's counsel, however, refers to the police report as “a piece of fiction,” as it is based on “false premisses and grave legal errors.” Lula and Marisa Letícia, Cristiano Zanin Martins says, are not the owners of the property, and therefore should not be held accountable for the renovation works, adding that the ownership of the property can be found registered at the Office of Real Estate Registry of Guarujá under the name of construction company OAS.

After the motion is filed by the Federal Police, federal prosecutors may officially indict Lula and Marisa Letícia with the crimes listed in the document, shelve the case, or request new inquiries.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Lawyer: Charges sought by police against Lula fictitious and politically biased

Edition: Fábio Massalli / Olga Bardawil

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