BRASMLIA, March 19, (APP/AFP): A Brazilian Supreme Court judge
Friday blocked ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from becoming presidential chief of staff and sent the corruption case against him back to
criminal court.
The ruling by judge Gilmar Mendes, which can be appealed to the full
high court, came after a flurry of court challenges to Lula’s appointment were filed. They alleged that his nomination was aimed at saving him from arrest in an explosive probe into a multi-billion-dollar corruption scam at state oil giant Petrobras.