Will Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva be released from prison? Incarcerated for more than a year and a half for corruption, the former Brazilian president may be released soon in favor of a judgment rendered in the evening of Thursday, November 7 by the Supreme Court.

Magistrates in Brazil's highest court have put an end to the case law, according to which a person may be imprisoned before all his or her appeals have been exhausted if his conviction has been confirmed on appeal, ruling it unconstitutional.

A case by case decision

The decision of the 11 judges of the Supreme Court was eagerly awaited and was obtained, after lengthy debates, on a tight score of 6 to 5 votes, and could involve the release of nearly 5,000 other detainees. However, these releases are not automatic, as each sentencing judge is required to apply the Supreme Court decision on a case-by-case basis.

Lula, who is serving a sentence of 8 years and 10 months' imprisonment for corruption, was jailed in April 2018, shortly after his conviction on appeal, although he still has recourse in higher courts. Immediately after the decision was rendered, the lawyers of the historical figure of the Brazilian left announced that they were going to ask for the release of "the former president improperly jailed for 579 days".

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Other prisoners possibly released

Among the detainees who could also be enlarged soon include dozens of people sentenced, like the 74-year-old former president, in the anti-corruption investigation "Lavage Express".

The prosecutors in charge of this investigation immediately stated in a statement that the decision of the Supreme Court goes against "the feeling of rejection of impunity" and the importance "of the fight against corruption, which are priorities of our country".

As a reminder, Lula was accused of having benefited from a triplex in a seaside resort near Sao Paulo in exchange for the awarding of contracts to a construction company. From his cell of the Federal Police in Curitiba, in the south of the country, he has continued to claim his innocence, claiming to be the victim of a plot to prevent him from returning to power.

"That's what we've been asking for years"

Judge Gilmar Mendes, one of the six judges of the Supreme Court who considered that imprisonment should wait until all the appeals were exhausted, said in his vote on Thursday that the Lula case had "contaminated the debates" because of the strong "polarization" of Brazilian society over the fate of the former president.

The ruling of the Supreme Court has been hailed by the new Argentine president, center-left Peronist Alberto Fernandez. "This is what we have been demanding in Argentina for years," he said. During his election campaign Alberto Fernandez came to visit Lula in his prison, arousing the irritation of Jair Bolsonaro. During the election campaign, the latter did not hide his wish to see the former president of the left, his pet peeve, "rot in prison".

With AFP