Free Lula movement

Free Lula Movement
O Comitê de Solidariedade Internacional em Defesa de Lula
Formation2018 (2018)
Professional title
International Committee of Solidarity in Defence of Lula and Democracy in Brazil
HeadquartersSão Paulo[1]
Location
Key people
Websitecomitelulalivre.org

The International Committee of Solidarity in Defence of Lula and Democracy in Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese: Comitê Internacional de Solidariedade a Lula preso no Brasil), also known as the Free Lula Movement (Brazilian Portuguese: Movimento Lula Livre), was a political and social movement composed of several Brazilian entities that advocated the release of the ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, from prison. Lula was convicted of money laundering and passive corruption, defined in Brazilian criminal law as the receipt of a bribe by a civil servant or government official. In 2017 he was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison by judge Sergio Moro.[2] On February 6, 2019, in another trial he was sentenced to 12 years and 11 months of imprisonment for the crimes of passive corruption and money laundering in the process that deals with the receipt of undue advantages through reforms made at a site in Atibaia and paid by Odebrecht and Schahin as counterpart for the conclusion of overburdened contracts with Petrobras.[3] However, leaked cellphone chats published by The Intercept suggested Sergio Moro, who became a justice minister after the conviction, steered the case against Lula.[4]

In November 2019, the Supreme Federal Court ruled that incarcerations with pending appeals were unlawful and Lula was released from prison as a result.[5] In March 2021, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin ruled that all of Lula's convictions must be nullified, because he was tried by a court that did not have proper jurisdiction over his case.[6] Fachin's ruling, which was confirmed by other Supreme Court Justices in April 2021, restored Lula's political rights.[7] The Supreme Federal Court ruled later in March 2021 that judge Moro, who oversaw his corruption trial, was biased.[8] All of the cases Moro had brought against Lula were annulled by 24 June 2021.

The movement included trade union leaders from more than 50 countries.[9] The support has also came from Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the Nobel laureate of Argentina,[10] José Pepe Mujica, the former president of Uruguay,[citation needed] Danny Glover, a UN goodwill Ambassador,[11] Noam Chomsky,[12][13][14][15] in addition to foreign leftist leaders, such as Michelle Bachelet from Chile and Bolivian leader Evo Morales.[16]

  1. ^ "Lula : c'est la démocratie qu'on veut emprisonner ! | MJCF | Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France". MJCF | Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France (in French). 2018-04-05. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  2. ^ "Lula é condenado a nove anos de prisão". Veja (in Brazilian Portuguese). Grupo Abril. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Lula é condenado a 12 anos e 11 meses de prisão no caso do sítio de Atibaia". noticias.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Uol. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. ^ Phillips, Dom (10 June 2019). "Brazil reels at claims judge who jailed Lula collaborated with prosecutors". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Brazil's former president Lula walks free from prison after supreme court ruling". The Guardian. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Fachin anula condenações de Lula relacionadas à Lava Jato; ex-presidente volta a ser elegível". G1 (in Portuguese). 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Lula: Brazil's ex-president cleared by Supreme Court". Reuters. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Lula judge was biased, Brazil supreme court rules, paving way to challenge Bolsonaro". The Guardian. Associated Press. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Free Lula!". IndustriALL. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  10. ^ "'Free Lula' Campaign Goes Global As Supporters Try to Sway Court". Bloomberg. 18 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  11. ^ "Actor Danny Glover Joins Free Lula Occupiers in Brazil". 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ^ "Chomsky: Lula Is the Most Important Political Prisoner in the World". prensa-latina.cu. Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  13. ^ Chomsky, Noam (2018-10-02). "Chomsky: 'eu recém visitei Lula, o mais proeminente preso político da atualidade'". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
  14. ^ "Noam Chomsky Visits Brazil's Former President Lula in Prison". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  15. ^ "Noam Chomsky Blasts Julian Assange's 'Scandalous' Arrest, Calls It Deeply Disturbing On Many Levels". The Inquisitr. 2019-04-13. Archived from the original on 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  16. ^ Darlington, Shasta (2018-08-05). "As 'Lula' Sits in Brazil Jail, Party Nominates Him for President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2018-12-12.