Lula’s Already Spent Two Months in Political Prison

The former dignitary was imprisoned on April 7, after the Porto Alegre court of appeals ordered the early execution of the sentence

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva today completes two months of political imprisonment in the Superintendency of the Federal Police (FP) in Curitiba, on the eve of the national launch of his electoral candidacy.

Founder and historical leader of the Workers’ Party (PT), Lula was sentenced without evidence to 12 years and one month in prison in a process that his defense lawyers consider plagued by illegalities and with a clear political purpose: to exclude him from the fight at the polls scheduled for next October.

The former dignitary was imprisoned on April 7, after the Porto Alegre court of appeals ordered the early execution of the sentence – even without exhausting the resources in all judicial instances, as established in the Constitution – and federal judge Sergio Moro order his immediate arrest.

Since then, hundreds of protesters remain stationed in the vicinity of the PF in Curitiba in the democratic vigil Free Lula and numerous personalities passed by to express their solidarity and support to the former dignitary.

Among them, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Argentina Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, promoter of a campaign to grant that distinction to Lula in 2019 that until the middle of last May achieved the adhesion of more than 256,000 people.

At the end of the month, more than 300 academics and intellectuals launched the manifesto ‘Lula da Silva is a political prisoner. Free Lula!’ which expresses deep concern with the circumstances in which the former Brazilian president was tried and imprisoned.

‘There is plenty of evidence that Lula da Silva was the victim of lawfare, that is, abuse of judicial power for political purposes. Therefore, the international community must consider it and treat it as a political prisoner,’ the document highlights.

It also points out that, inadvertently, Judge Moro himself admitted that he had no jurisdiction over Lula’s case, so in simpler terms, it can be said that in this process the magistrate chose the accused and acting as investigator, promoter, and judge condemned him for ‘indefinite acts of corruption.’

Such a ruling does not find legal or constitutional support, nor does it resist any logical and reasonable legal scrutiny, ‘being completely Kafkaesque,’ the intellectuals manifesto points out.

As confirmed by the PT, the national launch of the presidential candidacy of Lula will be held a day after he turns two months as a political prisoner.

The event will take place tomorrow in Contagem, the third most populated municipality of the State of Minas Gerais, located in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.

Still imprisoned, Lula continues to lead all polls of intention to vote with a view to the upcoming elections. According to the most recent poll, conducted by the Vox Populi Institute, the former dignitary is backed by 39 percent of potential voters.

In a stimulated scenario (when the interviewees are offered the names of the aspirants), Lula got 27 points of advantage over the second placed, the candidate of the far right Jair Bolsonaro (Partido Social Liberal), who would obtain the backing of only 12 percent of the voters.

While, in the intention of spontaneous vote Lula also easily surpassed the other contenders and obtains a 34 percent of the votes, while Bolsonaro reaches barely a 10 percent.