Lula was Unjustly Convicted for Defending the Brazilian People

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, serving 502 days in political prison today, was unjustly convicted for what he did to benefit the Brazilian people.

This was stated by Guilherme Estrella, geologist and former director of Exploration and Production of the state-owned company Petrobras, who along with José Graziano, former general director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), visited the former labor leader in the Federal Police headquarters of the southern city of Curitiba.

'Lula's freedom is the freedom of our people,' said Estrella, who said that the vigor of the free Lula Vigil adds to the awareness that the ex-president 'has to be innocent, to be unjustly imprisoned because he belongs to the Brazilian people , to defend the country, the workers, the national sovereignty.

For his part, Graziano said that without the Vigil it would have been difficult to see a man with a lot of energy. 'I have been working with him since 1981 and I don't think I have seen him with such force, claw and with such willingness to fight and defend Brazil.'

The former FAO chief took advantage of the visit to present Lula a book that talks about one of the greatest legacies of his government: Zero Hunger.

'A project that served as the basis for the 2002 campaign that became a global objective in the fight against hunger,' he said.

Since April 7, 2018, Lula has been serving a prison after receiving a 12-year penalty and one month imposed by the Federal Regional Court of the fourth region (TRF-4) for alleged acts of corruption.

He was subject to a second conviction in the Lava Jato anti-corruption operation in February, this time at 12 years and 11 months, but denies all charges.