Former Brazilian President Lula sentenced to over 9 years in prison

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva .
(Image credit: EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images)

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison on Wednesday, over charges of corruption and money laundering. The most popular president in Brazil's history, Lula was the frontrunner in Brazil's 2018 presidential election, but will be ineligible from holding office if he loses his appeal, Bloomberg reports.

Lula stands accused of siphoning billions of dollars off of contracts at the state-run oil company Petrobras. He has maintained his innocence, claiming the accusations are politically motivated, The Guardian reports. "Never in the story of Brazil was someone so persecuted and massacred as I am being in the last years," Lula has said.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.