Brazil court ruling may free Lula

Braslia: Brazil’s supreme court voted to overturn a ruling requiring convicted criminals to go to jail after losing their first appeal, paving the way for leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to be freed. The decision means thousands of convicts could be released from prison, including Lula, who is among dozens of political and business leaders caught up in a sprawling corruption probe. They would remain free until they had exhausted their rights to appeal their conviction — which critics say could take years in cases involving people with deep pockets. Lula’s lawyers said they would seek the ‘immediate release’ of the former president after speaking to him.