Brazil's Lula reaches prison to serve 12-year sentence

Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived at Curitiba prison to start his 12-year sentenceon charges of corruption after a standoff with police.

The leftist icon is a frontrunner in polls ahead of October's presidential election despite the corruption scandal.

Lula surrendered on late Saturday after a long standoff with the authorities in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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Surrounded by thousands of supporters at the metalworkers' union building in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Lula had ignored court orders to turn himself in by Friday.

Buton Saturday, he decided surrender he was blocked by his own supporters causing chaos on streets as the supporters raised slogans like "don't surrender, stay here Lula!'.

The jail in which he will be kept reportedly has special conditions made available for him by authorities.

Though mostly jails in Brazil are overcrowded and violent, Lula's jail includes facilities like hot private shower and toilet.

After his arrest, fireworks and cheering broke out in parts of Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities among those who long considered Lula responsible for the tide of graft sweeping over Brazilian politics.

Supporters cried openly at the exit of a man they remember for removing tens of millions of people from poverty and for connected with voters in a way few, if any, other modern Brazilian politicians have managed.

An outsized figure in recent Brazilian history and revered around the world among leftists, Lula managed to cross political divides while the president and oversaw a booming economy.

With him almost certainly knocked out of the presidential election, the race is likely to be thrown wide open. In polls, Lula currently scores more than double his nearest rivals.

Brazil's president for two terms from 2003-2010, Lula was found guilty of taking a luxury apartment as bribe from a construction company.

He said that Brazil's top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, "lied" about him being given the apartment by a big construction firm as a kickback.

"I am the only human being to be put on trial for an apartment that does not belong to me," he said.

Lula accused the judiciary and Brazil's most powerful media conglomerate of assisting a right-wing coup with the ultimate aim of preventing him from competing in the race.

"They don't want me to take part," he said. "Their obsession is to get a photo of Lula as a prisoner."

But, crucially, Lula said he would drop his dramatic show of resistance and comply with the arrest warrant.

After the speech, Lula was lifted onto the shoulders of supporters who chanted, "I am Lula."

(With inputs from AFP)