Ex-Brazilian president sentenced to 9.5 years in jail

‘Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for corruption and money laundering.
Federal prosecutors made the ruling on Wednesday, accusing Lula da Silva of receiving more than one million dollars in bribes from Brazilian construction giant OAS in the form of a luxury seaside apartment in return for his help in securing contracts with the state oil company Petrobras.
Lula has strongly rejected any wrongdoing and denounced the trial as politically motivated.
Judge Sergio Moro, who handed down the sentence, said the 71-year-old leftist leader could remain free pending an appeal.
Lula’s lawyers criticized the ruling in a statement, insisting that the ex-president was innocent and that they would appeal against the verdict.’
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