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Rallies in Brazil and the World Mark one Year Since Political Imprisonment of Lula

Demonstrations will take place in 16 countries to demand freedom for Brazil’s ex-president.
Rallies in Brazil and the World Mark one Year Since Political Imprisonment of Lula

Protesters will hold demonstrations demanding freedom for Lula in the next several days to mark one year since the ex-president's prison / Nelson Almeida/AFP

As April 7th marks one year since the political imprisonment of Brasil’s former president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, people’s movements and political organisations from 16 countries will hold demonstrations as part of the International Rally for Lula’s Freedom. Most rallies will take place between Sunday and Wednesday next week, Apr. 10.

According to the organisers, “the demonstrations in Brasil and abroad will expose the political character of the prison of ex-president Lula.” The Workers’ Party leader was arrested in a moment when he was the front-runner in the country’s 2018 presidential election. The judge who convicted him, Sérgio Moro, became the minister of Justice in the new administration of Jair Bolsonaro – who reaped the most benefits from the ex-president’s prison and his ineligibility to run.

Demonstrations are confirmed in 17 capital cities in Brasil and 32 activities will also take place in 15 other countries around the world. “The unfair smear campaign of which Lula is a victim has been sparking outrage in Brasil and abroad,” a statement released by the Free Lula Committee reads. The committee also reiterates that the case of the ex-president is under review by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations (UN).

Lula was nominated in January for the Nobel Peace Prise for his work fighting hunger in Brasil and abroad. Hundreds of thousands of personalities from around the world signed a petition to support his nomination, which was submitted to the Nobel Committee.

A video calling for the International Rally for Lula’s Freedom is spreading online. “Our expectation is to hold two major national rallies. One in Curitiba, with leaders, a cultural activity and a multi-faith ceremony on the 7th outside the Federal Police headquarters [where Lula is imprisoned]. And we will hold a national rally in São Paulo, also on April 7th, Sunday, in the afternoon, to bring together everyone in the state who wants to express their solidarity with Lula and believes his prison is unfair and arbitrary,” the Free Lula Campaign coordinator Igor Felippe said.

Felippe also calls people to organise their own activities in solidarity with Lula and in defense of democracy.

“If you believe Lula’s prison is arbitrary, if you believe it’s an injustice, if you believe Lula’s prison threatens democracy and civil rights, organise an activity, a meeting, a debate, a rally, a lunch, in defense of democracy and for Lula’s freedom, and send the information to our committee so it can be immediately included in our schedule.”

The former president was arrested in April 2018 after his conviction was upheld by an appeals court in a case involving a beachside apartment.

In Brasil, demonstrations will take place in the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraíba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Tocantins, and the Federal District.

Below is a list of rallies, demonstrations, and activities that will take place in several cities around the world.

Spain

Free Lula Committee in Madrid

Demonstration by the Collective for Rights in Brazil

Apr. 7

1:30 p.m.

Plaza Tirso de Molina, Madrid

Free Lula World Rally Barcelona

Apr. 7

12 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Cascada Del Parque De La Ciudadela, Barcelona

Germany

Free Lula German Initiative

World Rally for Lula’s Freedom

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Marienplatz – Munich

Kundgebung Freiheit für Lula (Free Lula Rally)

Apr. 7

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Herrmannplatz, 10967, Neukölln, Berlim

World Rally for Free Lula/Marielle Presente

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Ecke Poststr/An der Suerst, Bonn

Free Lula World Rally

Apr. 7

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Römerberg, Frankfurt

Zusammen für Lula Livre Hamburg

Apr. 7

11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Landungsbrücke, Hamburg

Komitee Freiheit für Lula

Lula’s Prison and Operation Car Wash – Talk with Jessé de Souza

Apr. 9

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Kleine Alessandrstr, 28, 10178, Berlim

Free Lula in Köln

Debate on Brazil in Köln

Apr. 7

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Köln Domplatte, Köln

Free Lula Berlin Committee

Collective Free Lula Sticker Affixing in Berlin

Apr. 3 to 6

Time to be defined

Meeting point: Brandenburg Gate

Berlim  Kassel  Frankfurt

France

Parisian Committee in Solidarity with Lula

Rally for Lula’s Freedom

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Trocadéro Esplanade, Paris

Portugal

Workers’ Party Office in Lisboa

365 days of injustice

Apr. 7

4 p.m.

Largo Luiz Camões , 1200-234, Lisboa

Voices of the World

Rally for Lula’s Freedom

Apr. 7

4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Praça 8 de Maio, 8, 3000-300, Coimbra

United Kingdom

Free Lula UK Committee

FREE LULA ‘Free Lula London Tour’

Apr. 7

1:30 p.m.

Embassy of Brazil in London

Brazil Liberation Front – Manchester UK

Free Lula! For Democracy in Brazil

Apr. 7

3 p.m.

Picadilly Gardens – Manchester, UK

Free Lula Rally

Apr. 10

5:30 p.m.

Embassy of Brazil in London

Film screening: Já vimos esse filme

Apr. 13

6pm

Calders Bookshop, 51, The Cut, SE1 8LF, London

Switzerland

Free Lula Committee in Geneva

Rassemblement pour Lula

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Place des Nations, 1202, Genebra

Italy

Bologne Collective for Democracy in Brazil

Free Lula World Rally

Apr. 7

5 p.m.

Piazza Nettuno, 40123, Bologne

Free Lula Italian Committee

Atto di solidarietà per Lula

Apr. 7

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Corso d’Italia, Roma

United States

BRADO/DDB/Women of Resistance Abroad Collectives

Free Lula – The fight to free Lula and regain democracy in Brazil

Apr. 6

6:30 p.m.

320W 37th ST NYC

Lula Livre – Free Lula Saint Louis

Apr. 7

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

6600 Delmar Blvd, University City, Mo 63130-4503, Saint Louis

Open lecture, concert, and exhibit: Free Lula – The fight to free Lula and regain democracy in Brazil

Launch of Free Lula Committee USA

Organization: The People’s Forum, Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee, Collectives Alerta, BRADO, Humanas e Mulheres da resistência no Exterior

Apr. 6

6:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.

320 W. 37th ST, NYC

Free Lula Committee USA

Free Lula Rally and March

Apr. 7

2 p.m.

Union Square & 14th Street, NYC

Netherlands

Amsterdam Collective for Democracy in Brazil

Free Lula World Rally

Apr. 7

2 p.m.

Dam Square, Amsterdam

Denmark

For Democracy, Free Lula, and Marielle’s life

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Jens Kofods Gade 1, st th, 1268 Embassy of Brazil in Copenhaguen

Australia

World Rally for Lula’s Freedom Melbourne

Apr. 7

5:15 p.m. – 7 p.m.

State Librabry of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne 3000

Uruguay

Rally for Lula’s Freedom Montevideo

Apr. 5

6 p.m.

Plaza de la Bandera, Montevideo

Sweden

Freedom for Lula, a politica prisoner

Apr. 6

5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Kungsgatan 84, Kungsholmen Stockholm, Sverige

México

Coletivo Regina de Sena México Brasil contra o Golpe

Rally for Lula da Silva’s Freedom

Apr. 7

12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Ángel de la Independencia 06500 – México City

Austria

Free Lula Austria Committee

Free Lula World Rally

Apr. 7

3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Stephansplatz, outside the Vigilkapelle of Stephansdom – Vienna

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