Brazilian justice annuls sentences against Lula da Silva

A justice from Brazil’s top court on Monday annulled all sentences against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which for now restores his political rights and allows him to run for the presidency in next year’s election.

Justice Luiz Edson Fachin wrote in his decision that the court in the city of Curitiba, which sentenced da Silva twice for corruption and money laundering, didn’t have the jurisdiction to put the leftist leader on trial.

Both convictions stemmed from a mammoth corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras brought to light by the so-called Car Wash investigation. The investigation was focused on Petrobras and its contractors, and the cases against da Silva weren’t directly related to its findings, Fachin wrote in his decision.

Fachin said the case should be sent to the federal court of Brazil’s Federal District, where it can begin again from the start.

Da Silva, 75, was Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2010, and was still appealing his two sentences -- one related to the alleged purchase of a beachfront apartment in the city of Guaruja and another regarding his alleged ownership of a ranch in Atibaia, outside Sao Paulo

He received a sentence of 12 years and seven months for allegedly receiving the apartment worth about $1 million as a bribe from construction company OAS. Da Silva has always denied ownership of the apartment. After his conviction was upheld by a group of magistrates, the former leader was imprisoned in April 2018, when he led polls for the election just months off.

Prevented from running, fringe conservative lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro won the election handily. Da Silva was released from prison in November 2019, after the country’s top court ruled that a person can be imprisoned only after all the appeals have been exhausted.