Ex-President Lula turns to UN over Judge Sergio Moro

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva submitted to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee a petition arguing he has fallen victim to a human rights violation as a result of Operation Car Wash, a probe into a corruption scheme at oil giant Petrobras. The document was lodged Thursday (Jul. 28).

Lula's defense complained about “wrongdoings” by Judge Sergio Moro, in charge of Operation Car Wash, among which recording and disclosing private conversations between the former head of state and his lawyers, and with suspended President Dilma Rousseff, in addition to a bench warrant for testimony on March 4.

The petition states that Lula may be subjected to human rights violations and abuse of power by Moro and the prosecutors forming the Car Wash task force, among which “invasion of privacy, unjustified arrest, pretrial detention, presumption of guilt, and the inability to dismiss a biased judge from the case.”

In the dossier, Lula's counsel states that the former president had always showed willingness to comply with inquiries launched by the police or the Prosecution Service, adding that Lula is not resorting to the International Committee in an attempt to rise above the law.

“As a former president, he serves no office, nor does he enjoy any privilege, and has always helped the police as well as prosecutors whenever he was called to give clarifications as part of police inquiries and other investigative procedures,” the document goes on to read.

Lula's lawyers mentioned the investigations surrounding the ex-president's alleged property on a farm in Atibaia, in the interior of São Paulo, and an apartment in Guarujá, on the São Paulo coast, noting that he denies the allegations and supports the probes as long as they are conducted “in a fair and transparent manner.”

The petition further declares that Lula has “repeatedly and emphatically denied being aware of or colluding with such wrongdoings as well as receiving any money or favors as 'kickbacks' for actions or decisions he may have made as president of Brazil or at any other given point in time.”

The document was lodged at the committee headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland, and, according to the defense, is a response to Moro's doings, which “couldn't be satisfactorily amended by Brazilian law”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira