Current Conditions: 15.9°C Cloudy Cloudy

Brazil’s ex-president could be freed after top court ruling

By Mauricio Savarese | iNFOTEL
November 07 2019 09:08 PM

CP1163801530 — Police form a cordon between supporters of jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President Jair Bolsonaro, as both groups keep vigil outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019. Brazil’s highest court reached a narrow decision that could release almost 5,000 inmates who are still appealing their convictions, including jailed former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The country’s Supreme Court decided on a 6-5 vote Thursday night that a person can be imprisoned only after all appeals to higher courts have been exhausted. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

SAO PAULO – Brazil’s Supreme Court delivered a ruling that could release almost 5,000 inmates still appealing their convictions, including former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other powerful figures jailed in a sprawling corruption investigation.

The court decided in a 6-5 vote late Thursday that a person can be imprisoned only after all appeals to higher courts have been exhausted.

The decision appears to cover Da Silva, whose attorneys said they will request his release Friday. That move will initially depend on a judge based in the southern city of Curitiba, where the former president is jailed.

The ruling also covers others convicted in cases arising from the so-called Car Wash investigation, which has ensnared dozens of top politicians and businessmen in Brazil. They will now be able to seek release.

News from © iNFOnews.ca, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.