Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former Brazilian President who was sentenced for 12 years in prison, has been granted leave from prison for part of a day. The ex-leader will attend his grandson’s funeral, BBC reported.
The former Brazilian President who is known as Lula is heading to Sao Paolo where the funeral of his seven-year-old grandson Arthur will take place, said the Parana state government’s statement. The official request by the federal police was approved, a grieving grandfather will fly to Sao Pao by the first flight if a judge gives an authorization. Arthur, 7, died of meningitis on Friday.
Mr Lula ruled Brazil between 2003 and 2010 in a very original way, according to the judicial system. The national leader was the most high-profile conviction from a sprawling anti-corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash – dubbed “the largest foreign bribery case in history” by the US Department of Justice. In 2018, Lula was sentenced to 12 years in prison on corruption charges but his lawyers were going to appeal against the new conviction.
In February, Mr Lula also was convicted for work done on a beachfront property, and in February a court doubled Lula’s sentence after he was found guilty of taking renovation work from a company implicated in a corruption scandal. President Jair Bolsonaro expressed his hope that Lula “rots in prison” in a video address in October.
In January, Lula’s request for attending his brother’s funeral was rejected, the sad trip to Sao Paolo will be Lula’s first time out after his conviction last April. His supporters have insisted he is the victim of political persecution, with his left-wing Worker’s Party petitioning for his release.
