Justices on the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice in Brasilia found that the circumstances did not justify the use of preventative custody for the 78-year-old politician, who has been detained twice since leaving the presidency Jan. 1. Although the decision was provisional, with the four justices to deliver a final verdict later, their vote will allow Temer to return home. A judge at a criminal court in Rio de Janeiro has to sign off on the decision before Temer can leave the Sao Paulo police headquarters, where he has been detained for nearly a week. The judges on Tuesday also freed a close Temer associate, Col. Joao Baptista Lima Filho, from detention. Another former Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is currently serving a sentence of eight years and 10 months.

Source: Washington Post May 14, 2019 20:18 UTC