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RIO DE JANEIRO. — A Brazilian federal court on Monday rejected an appeal made by former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s lawyers, upholding his conviction for corruption and money laundering.

The three judges at the lower appeals court in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre unanimously rejected Lula’s appeal against his conviction and sentencing, leaving him ineligible to run in the presidential campaign in October, the official Agencia Brasil reported.

Lula was found guilty of corruption and money laundering in the first trial in late 2017 and was sentenced to prison for nine and a half years.

On January 24, the aforementioned appeals court rejected a motion to overturn his conviction for money laundering and accepting bribes.

The court also extended his initial nine-year sentence to more than 12 years. According to Brazilian law, after being found guilty by the appeals court, the former president can already be arrested and start serving his sentence before all appeals are made.

However, since the Supreme Federal Court has accepted a habeas corpus request filed by his defense team last week, Lula will remain free at least until the request is analysed on April 4.

If Lula is arrested, he will be unable to run in the general elections.

The former president has the lead in the polls, but without him, the situation would change dramatically, considering none of the other candidates has a large advantage. – Xinhua