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News > Brazil

Brazil Top Court Rejects Temp Freedom for Lula, Habeas Corpus Trial Suspended

  • Supporters of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a protest against the Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro.

    Supporters of Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a protest against the Brazil's Justice Minister Sergio Moro. | Photo: Reuters

Published 25 June 2019
Opinion

Amotion presented by judge Mendes to grant provisional freedom to Lula while the trial of the second Habeas Corpus took place, it was rejected by the Supreme Court. 

Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (SFT) rejected on Tuesday two appeals that attempted to grant freedom to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The third motion, which was the Habeas Corpus hearing initiated on December 2018, was suspended once again and rescheduled for this year’s second semester. 

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This comes as a hard-hitting exposé on the alleged political motivations behind Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) task force against Lula and the Worker’s Party (PT), pushed the defense’s agenda once again to the national spotlight. On June 10, judge Gilmar Mendes cleared for trial the request for freedom to take place on Tuesday.

As Supreme court magisters met they initiated the hearing for three motions, the first was a Habeas Corpus motion presented against the SFT’s decision. This was quickly voted down by four of the judges against one in favor. 

The second was a motion presented by judge Mendes to grant provisional freedom to Lula while the trial of the second Habeas Corpus took place, in which allegations of impartially during the conviction trial against Lula by current Super Justice Minister Sergio Moro are investigated. 

On this vote, Lula’s freedom came close to materialize as the final decision was three votes against and two in favor. The judges that voted against it were Edson Fachin, Celso de Mello and Carmen Lucia, while Mendes and Ricardo Lewandovski supported the motion. 

Yet the former left-wing president’s defense was expectant of the third motion, that in the last moment was suspended once again. 

Even with all the elements of suspicion at the table, they refused to face the facts. The image of the Brazilian judiciary sank a little further into the swamp tonight. #LulaLivreUrgente
 

The habeas corpus was presented by Lula's defense last year when then-judge Sergio Moro accepted Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s appointment to lead the Justice Ministry. The procedure had already entered the agenda of the Supreme Court on December 2018, yet the trial was suspended on December 4 after Mendes requested a hearing.

At the time of the halt, the score was two votes against by Fachin and Lucia, with Mendes, de Mello, and Lewandowski still having to vote. The Supreme Court has announced the hearing will take place in the second semester of 2019. 

Lula was convicted on July 2017 in the first of at least eight corruption trials he faces. He was jailed on April 2018 and remains in prison. He has since been convicted in a second graft trial.

Then-judge Moro ruled against Lula and rendered him ineligible to run in the 2018 presidential election at a time when all polls showed that the former president was the clear frontrunner. This gave far-right Jair Bolsonaro a strong lead that resulted in his presidency win. 

The new president then, according to many, “rewarded” Moro by creating an unprecedented powerful position now called the “super justice minister”, which has complete control over all the judicial branch, policing and social control in Brazilian society.

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