Brazil top court ruling could free Lula, derail graft fight

SAO PAULO - A decision looming before Brazil’s Supreme Court could free imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva within days and deal the harshest blow yet to the South American country’s battle against corruption, prosecutors and judges say.

Several justices on Brazil’s top court have already made clear they want to overturn a landmark 2016 ruling that allowed defendants to be jailed if their graft convictions were upheld on a first appeal - the sole reason that Lula and several senior politicians and businessmen are currently behind bars.

Critics say the decision denies defendants the constitutional right to exhaust the appeals process before being jailed and Supreme Court Justice Marco Aurelio Mello is expected to decide early this week whether to bring before the full tribunal a motion against the ruling.

But leaders of Brazil’s groundbreaking anti-corruption drive, including the crusading Judge Sergio Moro who jailed Lula this month, told Reuters that overturning the decision would seriously damage the country’s sweeping battle against graft.

Reversing the ruling would mean not just freedom for Lula, who leads polls for October’s presidential election, but also the release of many other leading politicians and businessmen serving time for corruption.

Other powerful figures, like President Michel Temer, who face graft trials or are under investigation, would also benefit from the change if eventually found guilty.

The high court’s ruling two years ago “expressed an understanding that impunity and corruption walk hand-in-hand,” Moro said by email. “I have great hope that the Supreme Court will not reverse its precedent.”