MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Supreme Court rejects Lula's petition: must start prison term
By 6 votes to 5, the court gave its negative verdict to the habeas corpus presented by the defense, which argued that Lula should not yet comply with the sentence 
With this result, Lula would have to prove his innocence in jail, which will frustrate his intentions to campaign for the October elections. 
The Brazilian law could force him to start serving his sentence, as ordered by the judge of the Car Wash operation, Sergio Moro and other magistrates. The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil (STF) decided to reject the judicial appeal filed by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to appeal while in freedom to a sentence for corruption that remains pending, so the former president should enter the prison and begin compliance of the sentence.
Lula, who enjoyed immense popularity after two terms at the head of the country between 2003 and 2010, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for helping the construction company OAS to obtain state tenders in exchange for the promise that he would receive a triplex department in first line of the beach.
The former leader has always maintained his innocence, noting that this case, like other corruption charges against him still pending trial, are attempts to keep him out of the presidential race. Despite the legal problems that have angered some Brazilians, polls indicates that Lula is the favorite to take power.
It is the second time that Lula has filed an appeal to avoid complying with the sentence. His first initiative received a setback in January, when an appeals court upheld the sentence and even extended from 9 to 12 the years he was supposed to spend in jail. This time it was not different and the highest court in Brazil, which met at 2:00 p.m. and finished at around 1:00 a.m., decided to reject the former president's request.
With 6 votes against and 5 in favor, the court gave its negative verdict to the habeas corpus presented by the defense, which argued that Lula should not yet comply with the sentence, because there are still many appeals to demand.
With this result, the former head of state would have to prove his innocence in prison, which will frustrate his intentions to campaign for the elections on October 5. This, because although Lula can present more similar resources, the Brazilian law could force him to start serving his sentence, as ordered by the judge in charge of the Car Wash operation, Sergio Moro -who condemned him- and other magistrates. .
However, although the Supreme Court is the country's main court, Lula is not going to enter the prison immediately. The former president still has until April 10 to file an appeal before the court of Porto Alegre, but legal experts agree that this stage is a formality and that the probability of success is minimal.
Lula has not stopped campaigning throughout his legal battle, criticizing his detractors and promising not to surrender. Last week, at a stop in the southern state of Paraná, where he was convicted by Moro, two of his convoy's vehicles were hit by gunfire, which caused no injuries.
Independently of his judicial situation, Lula's nomination to the Presidency will be settled in August, when the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (STE) admits or rejects the candidacies. In principle, the candidacy of Lula would be unfeasible, because the law provides that a person convicted in the second instance can not stand for an elective office. But, according to specialists in electoral law, it could also present its candidacy protected in precautionary measures of higher courts.
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Apr 05th, 2018 - 10:18 pm +1https://i1.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/BOOPO-CARMEN-LUCUA-LULA.jpg?resize=498%2C420&ssl=1
Which Corrupt is the NEXT candidate?
@DT
Apr 05th, 2018 - 11:02 pm +1TH the Liar carries on with this ‘presumption of innocence” BS….how can anyone, having been convicted in two courts (the only two where evidence/proof can be presented/refuted) have the benefit of still being considered innocent, until the case is tried and concluded in the STF ? Never heard so much crap.
It’s just a legal travesty, a gimmick to protect the corrupt while they appeal endlessly to stay out of jail. It is totally immoral and should be revoked. In no other civilized country does such crap exist….only Brazil…wonder why ? just a rhetorical question.
The Zanin family, known for its incompetence, will say anything to save their boss’s ass….Just like Terry, the Liar.
Morais was the last judge to be appointed, to substitute Teori Zavaski (died in aircrash);
Perhaps the TRF-4 has already decided they will reject any further useless appeals from Lula (as they'll make no difference) , and authorized Moro to expedite Lula’s arrest warrant. Why delay 10 days if the toad can go to prison tomorrow ?
The petistas are all “horrified” at the General’s comments, in that they “put undue pressure on the judges”…the lefties as usual, are exaggerating, trying to turn the comments in to something that will benefit them ; but, is that any different to the PT’s cornering the STF president in her chambers, to pressure her, Gleisi Hoffman’s (and the MST’s) public threats about bloodshed in the streets if Lula is jailed, and the various attempts to intimidate the STF (Fachin and his family receiving death threats) etc ? I don’t think so…anyway, did the General tell a lie when he said that all honest citizens expect and want a Brazil without corruption and impunity ? Definitely NO….as I said, only those who have reason to be afraid, reacted negatively.
To finalize, the majority of the judges just followed their own jurisprudence, established in 2016. The 5 who voted in favour of Lula chose to ignore it.
@JB
Apr 07th, 2018 - 09:32 pm +1It's funny, you both hate the corrupt elite, the big difference is that EM thinks Lula was fighting them, and you think he became one of them. But EM seems to believe the real power isn't held by the politicians, but I presume by whoever is rich enough to buy them, and buy the newspapers and TV stations too.
”as long as they aspire to it through taking advantage of opportunities (hopefully) offered by govt, providing better health/education, and not by expecting all their wishes to be attended overnight, through handouts. I think I've made it pretty clear here, that I don't mind paying taxes, if spent for the good of the population, instead of serving the corrupt politicians and those who get into bed with them. ”
Sounds reasonable to me.
RE Fascism and communism, have you heard of horseshoe theory? It basically says that the far right and far left, instead of being the most opposite from each other, are actually very similar. I'd say any group that has views far from the norm will share some similarities, but communism and fascism as practised were both very authoritarian, so they have that in common at least. Besides, it's perfectly true that concepts change over time, modern ideas of left and right don't always match the old ones, and are different in different countries today. For example, in Spain it is the right-wing party that makes a fuss over Gibraltar, while the left-wing one was more sympathetic, but in Argentina it is the opposite. So is nationalism a right or left wing idea?
Anyway, historically the fascists certainly saw the socialists and communists as rivals, not allies, and as I said, modern neo-Nazis see themselves as on the right.
I think the original question was whether the military government was fascist? I presume you'd say no, but there are some similarities.
@TH
I'll believe that when I see it, and from every angle under a microscope, too.
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