Brazil's ruling party condemns arrest request against Lula

Brazil's ruling Workers' Party condemned on Friday the arrest request against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as "lacking consistent reasons."

The ruling party, which Lula co-founded, also accused the prosecutors of being "politically motivated."

Echoing the party's remarks, Rio-based daily O Globo said Friday that other members of the Sao Paulo prosecution office disapproved of their colleagues' call and considered the arrest request a mistaken decision, which may hinder the image of the prosecution office.

Prosecutors in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo requested Thursday that Lula be arrested to allow for more time to investigate suspected charges of money laundering and bearing false witness.

In their demand, the prosecutors stated that "Lula's preventive arrest is indispensable" to prevent the former president from "mobilizing his violent support network to prevent the criminal process from taking its natural course." The request has yet to be approved by a judge.

The Lula Institute released on Friday evening a document in which 14 Latin American and European leaders expressed their support to Lula. Among the politicians who signed the document are Uruguay's ex-President Jose Mujica, Argentina's ex-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Paraguay's ex-President Fernando Lugo.

Lula's allies were not the only ones to condemn the request. Since Thursday evening, several opposition leaders and media outlets with a more right-wing stance also criticized the document, saying that calling for Lula's preventive arrest was an exaggeration.

Legal expert Aury Lopes Junior, who was mentioned in the request document, told O Globo news network that the request was unnecessary.

Under Brazilian law, preventive arrest is a resource used only when there is a risk that an accused will try to flee, tamper with evidence or coerce witnesses, according to the expert, who said that none of those aspects is present at the current scenario, as federal police officers have executed search warrants in Lula's properties and office last week.

The prosecutors said that they have sufficient evidence that a luxury apartment in Guaruja, Sao Paulo, belongs to Lula and was the result of illicit dealings with construction company OAS. Lula denies owning the property.

If the courts accept the request and issue an arrest warrant for Lula, he will face four to 14 years in jail.

Lula was briefly detained for questioning on March 4 as part of an investigation into a corruption case involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras. Endi