Brazil Prosecutors Seek Arrest of ‘Lula,’ Former President, in Graft Case
Source: New York Times
RIO DE JANEIRO — Prosecutors in Brazil are seeking the arrest of the country’s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, by far the biggest figure to be ensnared by the sweeping corruption investigations that have upended the nation and rattled almost every level of government.
Federal prosecutors raided Mr. da Silva’s home in São Paulo last week, hauling him off for questioning in an operation that drew protesters to the street. Then this week, state prosecutors in São Paulo filed charges against him in a related corruption case and now want him arrested.
“This is an attempt to muzzle a political leader,” Mr. da Silva’s lawyer, Cristiano Zanin Martins, said in a statement Thursday night.
A judge must rule on the prosecutors’ request, but in the meantime, the political drama unfolding around the former president has the country on tenterhooks.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/11/world/americas/brazil-seeks-arrest-of-ex-president-da-silva-in-graft-inquiry.html?_r=0