Former president Lula da Silva is well ahead in the polls for the Brazilian presidential elections in October this year. Last July Lula was sentenced to over nine years and, on 24 January, the case against him goes to appeal. His conviction is likely to be upheld. If so, he will be unable to run in the elections. The speed with which his appeal came to court suggests that the Brazilian judiciary may have their eyes on candidate registration deadlines rather than law. Investigations in the original trial were unable to find evidence of any connections between fraudulent contracts signed by the state oil company, Petrobras, and Lula’s action. Yet he was convicted. There were several flaws in Lula’s trial such as lack of impartiality, being convicted on charges different from those presented by prosecutors and, more importantly, no evidence. His rights are being violated, which is why Geoffrey Robertson QC is taking his case to the UN. That is also why we believe he is a victim of lawfare. The Brazilian judicial system is being used for political purposes. The Brazilian people should be the ones to decide whether Lula should be president of Brazil, not unelected members of the judiciary.

Susan Grey

No coup in Brazil

Chris Williamson MP

Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America

Alfredo Saad Filho Professor of political economy, Soas University of London



Francisco Dominguez Middlesex University



Tereza Briggs

Ana Rojas

Members of the Brazilian Workers’ party (UK)

Vilma Govedice

Cristiane Guimaraes

Renata F Peters

Democracy for Brazil

Victor Fraga

Director and founder, D-Movies

Nara Jararaca

Luiz Zanin

Dalia Andrade Oliveria

Dilma 13 UK Committee

Ana Cockrill

Marcia Martins da Rosa

Arts for Democracy

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• The signatory list on this letter was amended on 24 January 2017. An earlier version incorrectly listed Alfredo Saad Filho and Francisco Dominguez as members of Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America; they are individual signatories.