Court to rule Monday on Lula corruption case

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March 21, 2018 5:56 PM

A Brazilian court will rule Monday on former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas appeals of his conviction and prison sentence on corruption charges, the court said Wednesday.

A verdict against Lula by the three-judge Regional Federal Court in Porto Alegre, Brazil could result in his immediate incarceration. He has been sentenced to 12 years, one month prison..

Lula, 72, president from 2003 to 2011, has been on a national tour to rally supporters and is scheduled to be at the Iguazu Falls on the border with Argentina and Paraguay when the court's ruling is handed down.

He was found guilty in July 2017 of receiving a luxury seaside apartment as a bribe from a Brazilian construction company in return for contracts with state oil giant Petrobras.

The leftist leader insists he is innocent of the charges and that he is the victim of a campaign to prevent him from running for the presidency in October, a race in which he is currently the frontrunner.

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