RIO DE JANEIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2019) Brazilian former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may be released from prison in the next few hours after the country's Supreme Court ruled to change the existing norms of the criminal code, a source in inner circles of the presidency told Sputnik on Friday.
On Thursday, the court ruled in a 6-5 vote to reverse regulation that jailed convicted persons who have lost their appeal but have not exhausted appeals to higher courts. The changes might result in a release of thousands of convicted persons, besides Lula da Silva, who was sentenced to several jail terms on corruption charges. In the wake of the court ruling, the former president's lawyers filed a petition to the court, demanding to immediately release him.
"He [Lula da Silva] may leave the prison in the next few hours," the source said.
Lula da Silva, who served as the country's president from 2003 to 2010, was convicted in relation to a corruption scandal involving the Odebrecht construction company that rocked Latin America, leading to dismissals of officials across the region. The firm is believed to have bribed politicians in exchange for contracts.
