REPORT ON FORMER PRESIDENT LULA
1) LULA IS NOT A DEFENDANT NOR IS HE BEING INVESTIGATED BY JUSTICE
In Brazil, investigations are carried out by the police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office. However, it is the Public Prosecutor’s Office and its prosecutor’s exclusive duty to bring a case to court.
In Brazil, judges do not investigate, they do not indict, and they do not bring proceedings to Justice. The judge’s job is to judge. They can only participate indirectly in investigations, authorizing or not intrusive (searches, seizures, and wiretaps) and coercive actions (conductions, and temporary jail holding) formally requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police.
A citizen only becomes a defendant or, as it is popularly known, is charged with a crime, after the prosecution lodges a formal complaint and it is accepted by a judge.
The former President Lula is not a defendant, that is, he does not answer to any lawsuit that accuses him of having committed a crime.
The charge filed against him by three notoriously factious prosecutors from the state of São Paulo had its origin in an inquiry that was considered irregular by the National Council of the Public Prosecution’s Office, and was not accepted by the court of Justice. Therefore, there is neither an accusation nor a defendant.
Former president Lula is not being accused of a crime nor is he being investigated, because this term does not exist in Brazilian law. Here we investigate facts, not people. Police and prosecutors that make accusations against a person in interviews, out of the files/records, are committing a crime.
To take the former president Lula to court is indeed the aim of the plutocracy, the mass media and partisan police officers and prosecutors who are exceptions within these institutions.
But none of these agents have filed a substantiated accusation to justify the opening of a lawsuit against the former president. A formal complaint has not been presented because Lula has always acted within the law before, during and after becoming president.
The only judges that have one day condemned Lula were members of a court of exception set up by the loathsome National Security Law during the military dictatorship.
In 1980, Lula was arrested for fighting for democracy and workers rights.
2) LULA IS THE TARGET OF A QUASI-JUDICIAL WITCH HUNT
With more than 40 years of public life, the former President Lula has been scrutinized under political, fiscal, financial and even personal aspects.
Since President Dilma Rousseff re-election, an army of journalists, police, prosecutors, attorneys and professional slanderers have been mobilized in order to find a crime – any crime – to accuse Lula and thus remove him from the political process.
No fewer than 29 prosecutors from five different levels have been involved in this quasi-judicial witch hunt, besides 30 auditors from the Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil and hundreds of Federal Police officers.
The actions of this army became frantic in the middle of last year when it became clear that the Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation would not reach the former president.
No bank account, no company, no plea bargain, or informant deals, nothing connects Lula to irregularities investigated in the millionaire businesses in oil wells, ships, rigs, or refineries. Nothing!
Since then, Lula, his family, the Lula Institute and his company LILS Lectures (an acronym for his name Luis Inácio Lula Silva) became the target of an avalanche of inquiries and inspections by sectors of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue:
In the past ten months, Lula has given four statements to the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office and has provided written information for two inquires.
Lula already has provided information to the Public Prosecutor’s Office on all his international travels, those who accompanied him, where and when he was lodged, how these expenses were paid, the people he met with during these trips, including heads of state and government; on the lectures he held, where, when and by whom he was hired; the Lula Institute and the company LILS Lectures provided tax, bank and accounting information of all their activities before the lift of secrecy and the warrants.
Despite having met all the warrants and requests and voluntarily provided explanations to the authorities, Lula was, illegally, unjustified and arbitrarily brought in by the police for questioning under “coercive conduction”, which is when police compel a witness to testify by taking them to a precinct under police custody without any prior intimation;
Lula was subjected to an even more illegal, unjustifiable and arbitrary request for provisional arrest, which was promptly denied by the Court of Justice.
During this period, state officials have criminally leaked to the media bank and tax records belonging to Lula, his sons, the Lula Institute and the company LILS Lecture.
Finally, the judge Sergio Moro illegally released to the press private phone conversations of the former President Lula, his wife, Marisa Leticia, and their children, with several people that have nothing to do with the facts that are being investigated, including the President of the Republic and other
authorities that are not under the jurisdiction of Mr. Moro.
Conversations between his lawyers were also disclosed by Judge Sergio Moro, violating the Brazilian law and international dogma of secrecy of communications between lawyers and their clients.
No Brazilian political leader has had their privacy, their bank accounts, their activities and appointments so invaded, a true plot against a citizen, violating his rights and denying the presumption of innocence.
And yet, there are no lawsuits filed against Lula, no formal accusation from the federal prosecutors, or any charges of tax or fiscal crimes against the former president by the Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil.
The result of this plot operated by state agents and the media is the most oppressive propaganda campaign ever seen against a public official in Brazil.
It was the incitement of hatred against the country’s largest political leadership at a time when Brazil needs peace, dialogue and political stability.
3) LULA DID NOT ESCAPE JUSTICE; LULA APPEALS TO JUSTICE
The former president systematically has recourse to the courts against the abuses and arbitrary acts committed by state agents, professional slanderers and media that disseminate lies about him.
Lula’s defense lawyers requested and obtained the opening of Disciplinary Procedures at the National Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office against two prosecutors that proceeded factiously;
He presented his written defense to the National Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and obtained the confirmation of the illegality of the case opened by the prosecutors from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo;
He has presented a civil action to the Supreme Court and is awaiting the judgment to define who is responsible for investigating the facts related to the Santa Barbara country house and the Solaris Condominium;
He has appealed to the Court of São Paulo and has been awaiting judgment against the decision of the judge of the Fourth Criminal Division on the same conflict of competence;
He has presented a habeas corpus to the Supreme Court against illegal decision of Minister Gilmar Mendes, that was corrected and withdrawn by the Minister Teori Zavascki by a writ of mandate of the Attorney General;
He has presented an appeal to the Supreme Court against the minister Gilmar Mendes’ decision that impedes him from taking office as Minister of State, although Lula meets all constitutional and legal requirements for this purpose;
Lula has presented four requirements asking Judge Sergio Moro to return personal objects belonging to his sons and daughters-in-law, illegally seized by the Federal Police.
Lula defends himself from these abuses through state institutions. At this point, Lula is not the one who needs to explain himself to Justice, it is Judge Sergio Moro who has to explain himself to the Supreme Court; and the two Federal Prosecutors have to explain themselves to the National Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Against his detractors in the press, in Congress and in the vicious underground networks, the lawyers of former President Lula have presented:
Lula does not have to explain himself to society and justice; newspapers, TV and radio stations that manipulated false news and baseless accusations of prosecutors and notoriously factious state agents should explain themselves.
4) LULA HASN’T ASKED NOR NEEDS PRIVILEGED JURISDICTION AT THE SUPREME COURT
It is important to clarify, that in Brazil, the prerogative of jurisdiction (misnamed privileged jurisdiction) of the Supreme Court is given to parliament members, government ministers, president and vice-president and members of the higher courts.
In this case, trials and judgments take place in the higher courts, and do not allow appeals from other courts or judges.
Lula is committed to help President Dilma Rousseff, in any possible way, to make Brazil grow and create jobs in an environment of peace, stability and confidence in the future.
President Dilma’s offer to Lula to become her chief of staff came after, not before, Judge Sergio Moro authorized a series of outrages against Lula: home violation, unjustified “coercive conduction” for questioning, violation of the rights of the former president’s family and employees.
There is no pending court decision or act, which can be frustrated if Lula takes office as a minister.
And besides that: the most serious arbitrary act committed by Judge Sergio Moro – for which he will have to explain himself before the Supreme Court – took place when the former president Lula had already the prerogative of jurisdiction.
Moments after Lula was appointed minister, the Task Force of the Lava Jato investigation illegally wiretapped a conversation between him and President Dilma, a conversation that was leaked to the press almost immediately by the Judge Moro.
In other words, even during the few hours Lula was a minister, he was not safe from the arbitrariness of the judge – neither him nor the president of the Republic.
There is no safe conduct against arbitrariness. Against arbitrariness there is the law.
To ensure his rights, Lula will continue to appeal to the Judiciary at all levels, all courts, since judges must act like judges from the highest court to the most remote jurisdiction.
Moreover, strong reactions – both inside and outside of Brazil – due to the “coercive conduction” and the illegal wiretap of President Dilma serve as an alert that injustice should not be committed again in this case.
5) THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST LULA ARE FALSE AND ARE BASELESS
In statements, in the memorials of Lula’s lawyers and notes from the Lula Institute, former President Lula has stated the facts and rejected the claims of his detractors.
Lula still has the same real estate assets that he acquired during his working life since childhood even after he became the president of Brazil.
He does not conceal his assets, he is not a tax evader, nor he has a bank account abroad, he does not have assets registered in other person’s names or companies in tax havens.
A brief summary of the responses to the false allegations, indicating the documents that prove the truth:
Apartment in Guaruja: Lula has never been the owner of the apartment 164-A at the Solaris Condominium, because his family did not want to buy the property even after the real owner renovated the apartment. Complete information on:http://www.institutolula.org/documentos-do-guaruja-desmontando-a-farsa
Atibaia country house: Lula has never been the owner of the Santa Barbara country house. It was purchased by friends Lula’s family friends with bank checks, which eliminates the chances of money laundering and concealment of assets. The renovation works made in the farm have nothing to do with the irregularities investigated in the Lava Jato investigations.
Comprehensive information and documents about Atibaia and Lula’s assets in:
http://www.institutolula.org/o-que-o-ex-presidente-lula-tem-e-o-que-inventam-que-ele-teria
Lula’s Lectures: After leaving the presidency, Lula made 72 lectures contracted by 40 companies in Brazil and abroad, collecting taxes through the company LILS Lectures. The amounts paid and the contractual conditions were the same for the 40 companies: both the eight companies investigated in the Lava Jato as the other 32 companies, including Infoglobo, from the Marinho family. All lectures were actually performed, as evidenced in the list of dates, places, contractors, themes, photos, videos and news:
http://institutolula.org/uploads/relatoriopalestraslils20160323.pdf
Donations to the Lula Institute: Lula Institute received donations from individuals and companies, according to the law, to maintain its activities, and these donations have nothing to do with the Lava Jato investigation. The Task Force illegally released the name of some donors, but omitted how the money is spent, which can be seen in the Lula Institute Activity Report 2011-2015:
http://www.institutolula.org/conheca-a-historia-e-as-atividades-do-instituto-lula-de-1993-a-2015
Presidential Collection: Former president Lula’s did not either illegally uphold objects from the presidential collection or committed irregularities in their storage. This note explains that Brazilian law obliges former presidents to maintain and preserve their collection, but does not indicate the means and resources to keep them:
http://www.institutolula.org/acervo-presidencial-querem-criminalizar-o-legado-de-lula
It is false news that part of the collection was expropriated by Lula from the Presidential Palace. The magazine that spread this farce in 2016 was the same that published an article in 2010 denying the rumor:
http://www.institutolula.org/epoca-faz-sensacionalismo-sobre-acervo-que-ela-mesmo-noticiou-em-2010
6) LULA’S STATEMENT TO THE POLICE AND PROSECUTORS
This link shows Lula’s statement to the police and prosecutors of the Lava Jato investigation under “coercive conduction” at the Congonhas airport on March 4, 2016.
http://www.institutolula.org/leia-a-integra-do-depoimento-de-lula-a-pf-em-14-03
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