A Brazilian magistrate has overturned two more cases against former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, filed by former judge Sergio Moreau, who was previously considered by the same court to be “biased” in convicting and imprisoning da Silva.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – June 25, 2021 – International News
The latest ruling annuls all the evidence gathered by Moreau, which means that the trial will have to start again.
This reduces the chances of a relatively quick verdict that will prevent 75-year-old Lula da Silva from running for president in 2022.
Da Silva himself said his conviction was politically motivated to prevent him from running against President Jair Bolsonar in the 2018 election, which brought a right-wing politician to power.
Supreme Court Magistrate Gilmar Mendes said there were “factual and legal” links between the case where Moreau was declared “biased” and two other cases that went through court.
Therefore, Mendes ordered to cancel “all decision-making actions” taken by Moreau, including those that “preceded the procedure.”
In 2017, Moreau found da Silva guilty of receiving a luxury apartment in Sao Paulo as a bribe and sentenced him to more than nine years in prison.
The Court of Appeals upheld the verdict, preventing him from running for president again after spending 19 months in prison.
But the second chamber of the five-judge Supreme Court ruled in March that Silva’s defense argued that Moreau’s political bias was apparent when Bolsonara appointed him justice minister.
The Supreme Court later ratified the ruling by seven votes to four.
Mendes’ decision extends the ruling to two other cases brought by Moreau against the former president.
Former President da Silva, who was in power from 2003 to 2010, has always pleaded not guilty.
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Source: Ukrgate
