Brazil's Supreme Court overturned on Wednesday (7), by ten votes to 1, a decision to transfer former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a prison in Sao Paulo. The transfer authorization provoked a strong reaction in Congress, receiving criticism from both PT allies and opponents.
Lula has been in prison since April 7, 2018, in a special cell at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba. His transfer was requested by the superintendent of the agency, Luciano Flores because Lula's presence has affected the routine of the building.
Federal Judge Carolina Lebbos decided to authorize the removal of LULA to a prison unit in São Paulo, his state of origin.
Corregidor Judge Paulo Eduardo de Almeida Sorci, from the State Department of Criminal Execution of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, then ordered Lula to go to Tremembé Penitentiary 2, known as the "prison of the famous."
The penitentiary houses prisoners such as Suzane von Richthofen (convicted of murdering her parents), Alexandre Nardoni and Anna Carolina Jatobá (convicted of the death of Isabella Nardoni) and Gil Rugai (for the death of his father and stepmother).
Lula's defense protested the decision and appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that it was "unreasonable and illegal", would entail "legal and personal vulnerability" and that he was entitled to stay in a staff room, a benefit determined by the former Judge Sergio Moro in the arrest warrant.
Lula's transfer authorization mobilized parliamentarians. Criticism of the ruling came from Congressional leader Rodrigo Maia and left-wing parliamentarians from the center and the PSDB.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon