Brasilia, April 11 (RHC)-- The lawyer of former Brazilian President Ignacio 'Lula' da Silva said in an exclusive interview with teleSUR that Lula was a “political prisoner” who did not commit any crime. 

“No one can be convicted without proof,” said Cristiano Zannim, insisting that “Lula never was the owner of the apartment for which he was sentenced" nor there was any “specific acts or demonstration that he received undue advantages in hiring.”  Moreover, his phone was intercepted, and the conversations were disclosed to the public -- although it is prohibited by Brazilian law. 

Zannim also criticized the court for not ruling first on the declarative acts of constitutionality rather than the subjective ones, such as the habeas corpus.  “We will use all the judicial resorts available to prove Lula's innocence and return to the political scene,” he concluded. 

Lula’s lawyers tried to revoke the arrest warrant for the former president that was issued by Judge Sergio Moro on April 6th but were denied.  Moro called for Lula’s immediate imprisonment to serve a 12-year sentence for supposedly taking kickbacks in the national Car Wash scandal. 

The former president has been imprisoned since arriving in Curitiba, yet teleSUR's correspondent in Curitiba, Andre Vieira, reports that a Brazilian tribunal will decide whether or not Lula will remain imprisoned on corruption charges because, as his defense team argues, the candidate still has legal avenues available to contest his corruption conviction.  Constitutionally, he cannot be detained until all such measures have been taken.