Brazil’s ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote a letter on Wednesday to the seven activists who have been holding a hunger strike for the past 25 days to demand his freedom and calling for justice in the Supreme Court.
The hunger strikers demand that the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Cármen Lúcia, place on the docket three petitions – called ADCs – that question the legality of imprisoning defendants while their conviction is not final.
The matter directly impacts the situation of former president Lula and thousands of Brazilians who are imprisoned while their appeals are still pending in higher courts.
Read the full letter below:
“Dear Comrades,
Jaime Amorim, Zonália Santos, Rafaela Alves, Frei Sérgio, Luiz Gonzaga, Vilmar Pacifico, and Leonardo Soares,
I have no words to thank you for your gesture and attitude in defense of democracy and freedom, of the expression in defense of the rights of the working people in rural and urban areas, and also for my right to run for president of Brazil.
I am not a candidate for myself. I am a candidate for a cause. I am a candidate because the people want it. I am a candidate to defend our National Sovereignty, to carry through the Agrarian Reform, and grant small, family farmers the rights and respect they deserve.
Together, we will defeat the candidates of the elites and Globo [Brazil’s major media network], because you made it possible that, for the first time ever, the Brazilian people registered a candidate with the Supreme Electoral Court.
You have my complete solidarity. Take care, because Brazil needs your gesture and your vote!
The struggle continues. We will win.
Lula
Aug/22/2018"
Edited by: Katarine Flor