The long-time lawyer of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva moves to the Supreme Court of the South American country.
The Senate in Brasília on Wednesday evening (local time) confirmed the appointment of lawyer Cristiano Zanin Martins as judge. 58 senators voted in favour, 18 against. The opposition accused the president of equipping the Supreme Court with followers.
Zanin had to be questioned for more than eight hours before the vote. He rejected such allegations. “I am here today, nominated by President Lula because he knows my legal work and my background as a lawyer and is confident that I will be guided only by the Constitution and the law,” said the 47-year-old. A chief justice can be “subordinate only to the constitution”.
Zanin has represented Lula in several corruption cases since 2013. After the end of his first two terms in office in 2018, the left-wing politician was sentenced to a long prison term for corruption and money laundering, spending 580 days in jail. In 2021, a Supreme Court judge overturned the verdict on formal grounds. Lula began his third term in office earlier this year after defeating his right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. (aeg/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
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