Brazilian court upholds ex-President Lula s conviction

Rio De Janeiro Jan 25 (IANS) A Brazilian appeals court on Wednesday upheld the corruption conviction of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

So far two of the three judges have voted while the third judge has yet to vote but it won t change the result Xinhua news agency reported.

The judges at the appeals court in the city of Porto Alegre said that Lula had broken the law by accepting a seafront apartment from a construction company involved in a major corruption scheme.

According to BBC the judges increased his original sentence from nine-and-a-half years to 12 years and one month in jail.

While he can still take his appeal to a higher court the decision could rule Lula out as a candidate for October s presidential election.

Ahead of the ruling Lula said he would continue fighting "for the dignity of the Brazilian people" until he died.

--IANS
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