Ex-Brazilian President Lula turns himself in to police

World
Europe

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew in Saturday to the prison in Curitiba where he is due to serve his 12-year sentence for corruption that derails his bid to return to power.

Lula turned himself in to police earlier on Saturday after pushing his way out of the Metalworkers' Union headquarters in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo, where he had taken refuge, as militant supporters sought to stop him from surrendering. He entered police custody more than 24 hours after a court deadline on Friday afternoon, ending a dramatic standoff.

Despite his many legal problems, Lula remains the easy front-runner ahead of October presidential elections and if he is unable to compete, as expected, the race will be thrown wide open.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba, Brazil, April 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

Lula, Brazil's president from 2003 to 2011, was convicted of taking bribes, including renovation of a three-storey seaside apartment that he denies ever owning, from an engineering firm in return for help landing public contracts.

Lula insists on his innocence

In a fiery speech hours earlier to a crowd of red-shirted supporters of his Workers Party outside the union building, Brazil's first working class president insisted on his innocence and called his bribery conviction a political crime, but said he would turn himself in.

"I will comply with the order," he told the cheering crowd. "I'm not above the law. If I didn't believe in the law, I wouldn't have started a political party. I would have started a revolution."

Lula's imprisonment removes Brazil's most influential political figure and front-runner from this year's presidential campaign, throwing the race wide open and strengthening the odds of a more centrist candidate prevailing, according to analysts and political foes.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is carried by supporters in front of the Metalworkers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, April 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Lula called himself "an outraged citizen" over his conviction, saying that Brazil's top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, "lied" about him being given the apartment as a kickback.

"I'm the only person being prosecuted over an apartment that isn't mine," insisted Lula, standing on a sound truck alongside his impeached successor Dilma Rousseff and leaders of other left-wing parties.

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Saturday rejected the latest plea by Lula's legal team, which argued they had not exhausted procedural appeals when a judge issued the order to turn himself in.

Under Brazilian electoral law, a candidate is forbidden from running for office for eight years after being found guilty of a crime. Rare exceptions have been made in the past, and the final decision would be made by the top electoral court if and when Lula officially files to be a candidate.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leaves the Metalworkers' Union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, April 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"They don't want me to take part," Lula said. "Their obsession is to get a photo of Lula as a prisoner."

'Don't surrender'

Surrounded by bodyguards, Lula had to push through a seething throng of supporters to get into a police vehicle outside the Metalworkers' Union building, where he had been holed up for two days and nights.

Earlier, the same crowd had mobbed his car and forced him to retreat when he attempted to drive out. "Don't surrender! Stay here Lula!" they chanted.

Lula, 72, will be held in a special jail cell with a hot private shower and toilet.

An anti-Lula demonstrator performs in front of the Federal Police headquarters, in Curitiba, Brazil, April 7, 2018. /Reuters Photo

Lula's everyman style and unvarnished speeches electrified masses and eventually won him two terms as president, when he oversaw robust economic growth and falling inequality amid a commodities boom.

His supporters had tears at the exit of a man they remember for removing tens of millions of people from poverty and connected with voters in a way few, if any, other modern Brazilian politicians have managed.

However, after Lula's arrest, there were reports of fireworks and cheering in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities among those who long considered him responsible for the tide of graft sweeping over Brazilian politics.

17946km

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters