Lula da Silva left the prison to attend the funeral of her grandson

The former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva he left this Saturday for the first time the prison in which he is imprisoned for corruption since April of last year, Authorized by justice to attend the funeral of a 7-year-old grandson who died Friday of meningitis.

The former head of state addressed 19:00 local time (10:00 GMT) a helicopter in the premises of the federal police of the city of Curitiba, in which he is serving his sentence, to be transferred to Bacacheri Airport, where will board a plane from the state government of Paraná this will transfer him to San Pablo.

Lula, in a dark suit, without a tie and with totally white hair, was moved in the middle of an intense security deviceand escorted closely by three federal police officers.

The former president will be taken by the federal police to Sao Bernardo do Campo, one of the cities of the metropolitan area of ​​São Paulo where the funeral is planned, but always it is unclear whether he will attend funeral ceremonies or meet only his family..

The process by which the judge allowed him to leave prison for the first time is protected by secrecy and even his lawyers are committed to do not disclose any details in order to prevent the supporters of the former president from promoting any manifestation likely to compromise the security of the operation.

The judge Carolina Lebbos, of the Criminal Chamber of Curitiba, accepted the defense request of the former president to release him temporarily on the basis of the law on the application of the criminal law, which authorizes convicts to leave prison to follow in the footsteps of their relatives.

The cremation of Lula's grandson is scheduled for Saturday noon at Jardin de la Colina cemetery in Sao Bernardo do Campo.. In the same cemetery, the burial of Marisa Leticia Rocco, wife of the former head of state who died in February 2017.

Arthur Araujo Lula da SilvaOne of the six grandchildren of the former president died Friday in a hospital in San Pablo, where he was admitted shortly before suffering from meningitis.

The death of Lula's grandson intervened a month after the death of the elder brother of the former president, a victim of a rare type of cancer that affected his blood vessels.

Lula wanted to go to the burial of her brother but justice has just allowed a family reunion while the body of Genival Inácio da Silva, said Vavá, had already been buried. He therefore refused permission and decided to stay in his cell.

The request to go to the funeral was denied then after the federal police argued logistical problems for his transfer and to guarantee him security in the middle of the burial.

Lula was jailed last April after being sentenced to 12 years in prison by a second instance court for pbadive bribery and money laundering in a case related to the giant deterrent scandal of national oil company Petobras.

Last month, he was sentenced for the second time for corruption, to 12 years and 11 months in prison, accused of benefitting from the million-dollar reforms that three construction companies made in a country house that had been left to his home. family.

In total, the former president has eight cases in court, including the two for which he was sentenced, all related to various corruption issues.

(With EFE information)