BRAZIL: Lawyers Try To Avoid Lula's Arrest Before Prison Order Deadline

(RTTNews) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must surrender to the authorities by 5 p.m. Friday local time (3 PM ET) to comply with the prison order handed down by federal Justice Sergio Moro - but the defense team of the politician, alongside other lawyers, is trying to prevent him from being arrested with new habeas corpus requests in the Higher Court of Justice (STJ) and the Supreme Court (STF).

A lawyer asked the STF to change Justice Rosa Weber's vote against Lula's habeas corpus. Such decision would tie the April 4 trial result and grant victory to the defense of the former president.

During that trial, Weber said that she would vote in favor of Lula if, instead of a habeas corpus, the Court was discussing the two declaratory actions of constitutionality (ADCs) that question if defendants should be arrested before exhausting all their chances of appealing from a sentence.

The lawyer, who is not part of Lula's defense team, also asked that the former president remains free until the STF discusses the ADCs mentioned by Weber.

The request was sent to Marco Aur?lio Melo, who voted in favor of granting the habeas corpus to Lula. So far, however, Melo has only asked the STF's chairwoman, Carmen L?cia, to confirm whether he should, in fact, be the judge responsible for deciding this case. He added that according to the court rules the request should be forwarded to justice Alexandre de Moraes, who voted against the habeas corpus to Lula.

Carmen Lucia has not decided on the matter yet. The expectation is that Lula remains free if she chooses Marco Aurelio or another justice who voted in favor of the habeas corpus to Lula as the judge responsible for that case.