Former President Lula denied having interfered with Operation Car Wash
Former President Lula arrives at the court for his testimony.
In a testimony made today (Mar. 14), ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denied having asked then Senator Delcídio do Amaral to seek to keep former Nestor Cerveró, former Petrobras international director from forging a plea bargain deal with the task force of Operation Car Wash.
The statement was heard in a Brasília court as part of the case in which the former president is being accused of obstructing probes under Operation Car Wash. Lula described himself as “the victim of a massacre.” “You have no idea what it feels to wake up everyday afraid of having the press at your door, thinking you're going to be arrested,” he said.
He denied being personally acquainted with Cerveró and said he was not interested in the ex-director's testimony. “Only one Brazilian could be afraid of Cerveró's plea bargain statement, and that's Delcídio. I never had concerns about the testimony of any Petrobras director,” Lula told the judge.
When asked about meetings with the former senator at the headquarters of the Lula Institute, in São Paulo, he said he had “a number of meetings with Delcídio.” “He was a senator, a government leader, there were a number of meetings in Brasília and São Paulo. He was at the institute a number of times,” he said.
Lula's testimony lasted for about an hour. First he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to give a statement and defended his administration and the Workers' Party (PT), which he referred to as the “most important political party in the Americas.”
The charges bringing Lula under the scrutiny of Operation Car Wash were accepted in July last year.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Former President Lula denied having interfered with Operation Car Wash
