Brazil: Judge orders return of Lula's passport
February 3, 2018
A Brazilian judge on Friday ordered that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's passport be returned to him.
A lower court judge had ordered authorities to seize da Silva's passport hours before he was set to fly to Ethiopia for a United Nations conference on January 26, for fear he would seek asylum abroad.
"There is no way to conclude that [da Silva] was planning to flee the country" Judge Bruno Apolinario said in his ruling. The trip "was justified by a previously scheduled professional commitment," he added.
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Lula's lawyer, Cristiano Zanin, said Friday's ruling had "corrected" the lower court order that had violated the former president's constitutional right to freedom of movement.
Shadow of corruption
Da Silva is a leading candidate in polls for the 2018 presidential election in October, but faces legal hurdles to entering the race after a court upheld a corruption conviction against him in late January.
He was found guilty of accepting bribes in 2017 and sentenced to 12 years in jail.
The left-wing politician, who governed Brazil from 2003 to 2011, has denied the charges and described them as politically motivated.
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amp/cmk (AP, AFP)