Ex-president Lula’s habeas petition rejected unanimously

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice unanimously rejected the preventive habeas corpus petition on behalf of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This was Lula’s attempt to evade imprisonment after all appeals against his conviction are considered in the case involving a triplex apartment in the coastal city of Guarujá, São Paulo state.

The decision, made on Tuesday (Mar. 6), confirms the January ruling by Superior Court of Justice vice-President Justice Humberto Martins to reject the petition.

The move does not send Lula straightaway to jail, as the former president still has a petition under consideration by an appellate court, even though it cannot reverse a conviction, but rather lead to the dispelling of doubts arising from the sentence.

Conviction

Lula was convicted on July 12, 2017, by Judge Sergio Moro, who found him guilty of being illicitly favored by construction company OAS in the beachfront apartment case.

A few days later, Lula’s counsel resorted to an appellate court, which not only confirmed the sentence in January this year, but also expanded it—from nine years and six months to 12 years and one month in prison.

Additionally, Lula’s defense attorneys are attempting to prevent him from going to prison through yet another application for habeas corpus with Brazil's Supreme Court. The document has been passed on to Chief Justice Cármen Lúcia, who may submit it to the full court for consideration. She has been under pressure by other court justices.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira