Curitiba,Parana,Brazil – 4/23/2018 – 10:45 PM
- The PT’s National Directorate met in Curitiba on Monday (April 24) and passed a resolution affirming that one cannot talk about justice or democracy while ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in jail. The party affirmed that “the liberty of ex-President Lula has become the central question for the return to the democratic process in Brazil,” and reiterated that the ex-President was “condemned without proof, by biased judges who were unable to prove any crime” that he had committed. The National Directorate also reiterated that Lula will be the Party’s candidate to dispute the presidential elections this year.
- The elected President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, was impeded from visiting Lula in the Federal Police headquarters building by a decision made by Judge Carolina Lebbos, of the 12th District Federal Court of Curitiba. Dilma criticized the decision and remembered that even during the military dictatorship, prisoners were able to receive visits from friends, family and lawyers. Dilma reaffirmed that Lula is a political prisoner who was condemned without proof and lamented the actions of the Curitiba Justice system. “I am very sorry for democracy, because it has a special value. Therefore we have to pay attention to how Justice operates. Today it was Lula, tomorrow it could any citizen,” she said.
- The External Congressional Commission that was formed to inspect the installations where Lula is being held in the Federal Police headquarters building in Curitiba, confirmed that it will conduct this task tomorrow, April 24, at 11 AM, despite the prohibition by Judge Carolina Lebbos. The notice was given by the coordinator of the Commission, Congressman Paulo Pimenta (PT-Rio Grande do Sul). The Congressman said that the Commission did not, at any moment, request permission from the judge for the inspection, merely communicated the measures needed to conduct the task, because it is based on Congresses constitutional prerogative to create external commissions to verify incarceration conditions throughout the entire country. The delegation is made up of Pimenta and 12 more Congressmen and Congresswomen.
4) Protests condemning ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s political imprisonment continue to take place around the World. On this Monday, April 24, protests took place in several countries around the World, denouncing Judge Sergio Moro’s arbitrary decision to condemn Lula without proof and defending freedom for the ex-President. On this Monday in London, England, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) attempted to deliver a letter to the Brazilian ambassador, but they were not received by him. The letter was left at the door of the embassy. On Sunday, during the London Marathon, activists passed out pamphlets demanding freedom for Lula.
- Solidarity and #LulaLivre in Washington DC, USA. Representatives of the largest unions in the United States and Canada, among them Cathy Feingold and Brian Finnegan (AFL-CIO) and Darius Sivin (UAW International Union) delivered a letter of protest against Lula’s imprisonment to the Brazilian consulate in the US capital. Representatives of several American unions and social movements participated in the protest. A protest also took place in front of the Brazilian embassy in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.
Bulletin 43 – People’s Committee for the Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba – 4/23/2018 – 10:45 PM
