Brazil’s Lula agrees to hand himself to police

BRAZIL’S former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said yesterday he had been falsely accused of corruption – but was ready to hand himself in to police.

In his first comments since being ordered to start a 12-year prison sentence for accepting a seaside home as a bribe, Mr da Silva told supporters he was “an outraged citizen” and that Brazil’s top anti-corruption judge, Sérgio Moro, had “lied” about the situation. In an hour-long speech, the 72-year-old said he was “the only human being to be put on trial for an apartment which does not belong to me”.

Despite his conviction, he is the frontrunner in polls ahead of the Oct 7 presidential election.

Mr da Silva was ordered to surrender to the authorities on Friday, but missed the deadline, choosing instead to hole up in his home town of Sao Bernardo do Campo.