Lula's sentence heads to appeal court

A Brazilian appeal court will review the verdict against former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on January 24.

In July, Lula was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for his role in a corruption and money laundering scheme. The sentence was meted out by lower court judge Sergio Moro over illicit benefits, such as gifted improvements to Lula's beachfront apartment.

Lula's lawyer denied that the former president is the owner of the apartment, although the judge alleged that works on the property represented a bribery payment to Lula from construction company OAS. The appeal will be reviewed by a high court in Rio Grande do Sul state, which has jurisdiction over sentences made in Curitiba city, where judge Moro is based.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Lula may be barred from running as a candidate in next year's presidential election, which bans candidates convicted in a high court.

Nevertheless, even if the conviction is upheld, it would not necessarily mean that Lula would be arrested in the short term, or even prohibited from running for office, due to the highly complex Brazilian legal system. Even if the three-judge appeal court sides against Lula, the former president's legal team can appeal certain points with the supreme court, prolonging the legal case.

Meanwhile, Lula's workers' party criticized the timetable set by the appeals court. "Lula is the major political leader in Brazil. His candidacy for the presidency belongs to the Brazilian people and is becoming more and more consolidated in a country that needs to overcome the crisis, recover democracy, job creation and sovereignty," said the party's president, senator Gleise Hoffmann.

2018 ELECTION: LULA STILL THE FRONTRUNNER

Despite his legal challenges, Lula continues to lead the polls ahead of next October's presidential vote. The charismatic leftist leader, who ruled the country from 2003 to 2011, has the support of 34% of prospective voters, according to the most recent survey by the Datafolha polling institute.

The controversial ultra-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro is polling at around 17%, while former environment minister Marina Silva is in third place with 9%. All three have confirmed their intention to run in the 2018 elections.

The poll also shows that Lula would defeat all potential rivals in a runoff vote. Under Brazilian rules, the second round is mandatory if no candidate reaches a simple majority in the first round.