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In Reversal, Brazil Court Rules to Keep Lula in Jail

by VOA News

   Brazil's Court of Appeals has ordered former president Luiz Inacio Lula
   da Silva remain in prison, reversing a shocking decision by a judge of
   the same court to free Lula earlier on Sunday.

   Judge Sergio Moro, who sent Lula to prison in April on a bribery
   conviction, said the court lacked the authority to release Brazil's
   most popular politician.

   Lula remains popular in Brazil despite being sentenced a year ago to 12
   years in prison for corruption.

   Polls suggest the leftist former president would win a third term in
   the October elections, but Brazilian law prohibits a candidate from
   running for office for eight years after a criminal conviction.

   Da Silva's mass appeal propelled him to two terms as president between
   2003 and 2011, a period of strong economic growth.