UN committee: Brazil ex-president rights violated in corruption probe

• 

The UN human rights committee - which supervises countries' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - confirmed Thursday that corruption proceedings against former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which led to his imprisonment and prevented him from running for elections in 2018 violated due process, Reuters reported.

The committee's announcement comes one year after Brazil's Supreme Court decided to annul Lula's corruption conviction, allowing him to launch a campaign for October's presidential election.

Da Silva is currently the frontrunner against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.

A statement on behalf of the UN human rights committee of independent experts indicated that "Procedural violations rendered Lula's prohibition to run for president arbitrary and therefore in violation of his political rights, including his right to run for office."

The former president filed a complaint to the committee about his trial in Brazil's biggest-ever corruption investigation known as "Car Wash".

The UN human rights committee pointed out that using wiretaps during the investigation and their disclosure to the media violated Lula's right to privacy.

The committee added that the judge and prosecutors' actions also violated Lula's right to presumption of innocence.

The statement urged Brazil "to ensure that any further criminal proceedings against Lula comply with due process guarantees and to prevent similar violations in the future."