Brazil court votes to uphold Lula da Silva conviction
Judge says Lula was one of the architects ‘of a sophisticated scheme of fraud and corruption’ that weakened Brazil’s entire political system
Porto Alegre — One of three judges at a Brazilian appeal court judge voted to uphold Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s corruption conviction Wednesday, dealing a severe blow to the ex-president’s comback hopes. Judge Joao Gebran Neto said in a three-hour judgement that Lula was one of the architects "of a sophisticated scheme of fraud and corruption" that had weakened Brazil’s entire political system. He voted to increase Lula’s sentence from 9.5 years to more than 12 years. The other two judges were to present their judgements later Wednesday. The court had convened amid high security in the tense southern city of Porto Alegre to rule on an appeal by the hugely popular leftist icon against his July corruption conviction in Brazil’s sprawling "Car Wash" graft scandal. The stakes are high, and thousands of Lula supporters and opponents gathered in the city to await the ruling. Confirmation of the sentence would effectively end Lula’s hopes of running in this year’s presidential election, w...
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