Transcript:

On Thursday, February 9th, the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba will resume the hearings related to the criminal proceeding that the Federal Attorney’s Office filed against former President Lula and his wife Marisa regarding the so-called “triplex” (three-story apartment) in Guarujá. In this phase, the defense witnesses will be heard. This criminal proceeding is the one related to the PowerPoint presentation broadcasted on national television by those Operation Car Wash Federal Prosecutors – a fact that shocked the legal community across the world and in Brazil.

The prosecution claimed the misappropriation of amounts arising from three contracts signed by Petrobras and OAS, and that a part of these amounts was allegedly used to buy an apartment in Guarujá for former President Lula. In spite of this theatrics by the prosecutors, this claim was refuted. The Federal Attorney’s Office selected 27 prosecuting witnesses who were heard in the second semester of 2016.

None of these witnesses incriminated Lula or Marisa. Even the informers who testified in the case were not able to present any fact with a connection between former President Lula or his wife Marisa and the embezzlement of money at Petrobras or with the apartment in Guarujá, which was owned by them. On this current phase, the defense witnesses will certainly reaffirm the innocence of our clients.

One cannot deny anymore that Lula is a victim of lawfare. He is suffering an intense political persecution by the misuse of law and legal procedures. Lula’s case is one of the biggest examples of lawfare in the world. It is very important that the society follows each stage of this process and can see its lack of legitimacy, in addition to the total absence of materiality in the accusations against Lula. We reaffirm the commitment to fight for an impartial Justice, which is the foundation of the Rule of Law.

Cristiano Zanin Martins