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Brazil Supreme Court Nullifies All Charges Against Lula
On March 8, a Supreme Court Minister nullified all the charges and sentences issued for convictions obtained as part of a corrupt lawfare operation mounted against former President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, representing the serial violation of his rights over several years, including the 19 months he spent in prison from April 2018 to November 2019. Lula was exonerated after the judge admitted as evidence a trove of damning leaked conversations from the social media platform Telegram revealing ongoing collusion among the "Operation Car Wash" (Lava Jato) prosecutor who pressed multiple corruption charges against Lula, celebrity judge Sergio Moro who convicted him without evidence, and certain Supreme Court judges who also were part of the conspiracy. Their conversations on the Telegram app revealed that the charges against Lula were based on forged or coerced plea bargain testimonies by jailed businessmen who all changed their stories multiple times to obtain partial illicit asset retention, greatly reduced sentences and transfer to house arrest. Also confirmed was the fact that the Brazilians illegally worked hand in hand with U.S. government authorities, as Lula's defence team had long alleged, proving that the whole thing was an elaborate scheme to set up the former president and take him out of the 2018 presidential race he was on track to win. This is what opened the door for the election of Jair Bolsonaro whose chaotic rule has left his government divided and plunged Brazil into crisis, with not a few accusing him of genocide for his criminal refusal to take measures to control the spread of the pandemic in the country. On April 15 an eight to three Supreme Court decision ratified the annulment of all Lula's sentences, fully restoring his political rights. Lula is now free to run again for elected office should he choose to do so, and has let it be known that he is willing to present himself as the Workers' Party candidate in next year's presidential election. Voter intention polls taken shortly after he made that known suggest he would once again be favoured to win. The prospect of using the 2022 election to return Brazil to the path of sovereignty and nation-building instead of submission to the U.S. and nation-wrecking is bound to inspire many others as well, as it does Lula, to ensure that fight is fought so it is won. (With files from Brasil Wire. Photo: Brasil
Livre.)
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