Sao Bernardo Do Campo : Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s polarising election frontrunner and leftist icon, was negotiating his surrender after dramatically skipping a first deadline today to start his 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers’ union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, the 72-year-old let the 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) deadline pass without public comment.

This raised the temperature in the standoff between the leftist former two-term president and Judge Sergio Moro, who heads the mammoth “Car Wash” anti-graft probe and who ordered Lula’s imprisonment.

Given that Lula was effectively surrounded by a human shield, it was clear that a forcible arrest attempt would trigger violence.

But authorities took pains to reduce tensions, downplaying Lula’s defiance and stressing that he was not considered a fugitive — something that would trigger a preventative arrest warrant.

“Lula did not comply with a judicial order,” a spokesman for Moro told AFP, “but everyone knows where he is. He’s not hiding or on the run.”

Politicians from Lula’s Workers Party said he would remain in Sao Bernardo do Campo overnight and that his lawyers were in close negotiations with police over the time and place of the arrest.

“There is a discussion between police and the ex-president’s lawyers and the party is following this. The idea is to avoid the judge ordering preventative arrest, which would aggravate the situation,” said Congressman Carlos Zarattini.

Senator Gleisi Hoffmann tweeted that a Catholic Mass would take place at the union building today in memory of Lula’s late wife Marisa Leticia, who died last year and would now be turning 68.

According to varying Brazilian media reports, Lula was considering surrendering after the Mass or possibly holding out through the weekend. Much of Friday, Lula waited in hope that the country’s top appeals court, the Superior Tribunal of Justice, would temporarily suspend his arrest warrant. However, the petition was rejected shortly before the deadline expired. </s> SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil (AP) — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was taken into police custody Saturday after a tense showdown with his own supporters, capping an intense three days that underscored raw emotions over the incarceration of a once wildly popular leader who has been engulfed by corruption allegations.

Just hours earlier, da Silva told thousands of supporters that he would turn himself in to police, but also maintained his innocence and argued his corruption conviction was simply a way for enemies to make sure he doesn't run — and possibly win — re-election in October.

When he first tried to leave the metal workers union headquarters where he was holed up to turn himself in, dozens of supporters blocked a gate where a car carrying da Silva was trying to exit.

"Surround, surround (the building) and don't let them arrest him," chanted supporters. After a few minutes of tense words between guards and supporters, the former president got out of the car and entered the union headquarters.

Police vehicles surrounded the building, raising the fears of clashes. Da Silva emerged a second time shortly after nightfall, this time surrounded by bodyguards who pushed back scores of supporters who tried to stop his advance.

The dramatic scene was the latest development in a whirlwind series of days, which began when the Supreme Federal Tribunal, the country's top court, ruled against his petition on Thursday to remain free while he continued to appeal his conviction.

Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees many of the so-called "Car Wash" cases, then ordered an arrest warrant for da Silva, giving him until 5 p.m. Friday to present himself to police in Curitiba, about 260 miles (417 kilometers) southwest of Sao Bernardo do Campo, and begin serving his 12-year sentence.

Da Silva, who Brazilians simply call "Lula," did no such thing. Instead, he hunkered down with supporters in the same metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his improbable rise to power in one of the world's most unequal countries.

"The police and 'Car Wash' investigators lied. The prosecutors lied," said da Silva, as a few thousand supporters cheered.

"I don't forgive them for giving society the idea that I am a thief," he continued.

Still, da Silva said he would turn himself in "to go there and face them eye to eye. The more days they leave me (in jail), the more Lulas will be born in this country."

While da Silva spoke, some people cried while others chanted "Free Lula!" When he finished speaking, a sea of supporters carried him on their shoulders back into the building.

Late Saturday, police were flying da Silva to Curitiba, where after processing he will begin serving his sentence.

Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said that by not complying with the order on Friday da Silva "wanted to demonstrate strength and popularity, showing that he is a political leader capable of gathering a crowd in his support."

Choosing the metal workers union to take refuge, and not the Workers' Party headquarters, was also significant, said Santoro.

"It shows that he wants to emphasize his trajectory as leader of a social movement, rather than his role as leader of a party marked by allegations of corruption," he said.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favors with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January. The former president has always denied wrongdoing in that case and in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried.

Still, his jailing marks a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose from poverty to power against steep odds. During his two administrations, several social welfare programs and a booming economy helped tens of millions come out of abject poverty, making his downfall deeply personal for many Brazilians who saw him as a symbol of hope.

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the country's industrial south. In 1980, during the military dictatorship, he was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organizing strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office an international celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the "most popular politician on Earth."

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarized, that da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

"We have no choice but to keep our head high. Our struggle will be bigger tomorrow," said Fernando Lauro, a supporter who watched da Silva be taken by police.

"I hope he never gets out, but I fear he will," said Silvia Gend, a 72-year-old housewife in Sao Bernardo do Campo. "Brazil is the country of impunity."

Workers' Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, will still be the party's candidate in October. Technically, being jailed does not keep him off the ballot.

In August, however, the country's top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It is expected to deny da Silva's candidacy under Brazil's "clean slate" law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. Da Silva could appeal, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

The former leader is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have seen near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

Peter Prengaman reported from Rio de Janeiro. Associated Press reporter Jill Langlois in Sao Paulo contributed to this report. </s> The Latest on the looming arrest of Brazil's ex-President "Lula" (all times local):

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in police custody after a tense showdown with supporters who tried to block him leaving a union building.

Da Silva left an exit of a metal workers union surrounded by several bodyguards who pushed back supporters trying to keep him from leaving. Getting beyond them, da Silva entered a police vehicle in a convoy of cars. He was being taken to a police station in Sao Paulo. From there, he'll be transferred to the city of Curitiba in the neighboring state.

Earlier Saturday, supporters did not let da Silva leave in a vehicle. They blocked the gate.

Da Silva has been convicted with corruption and sentenced to 12 years and one month.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are not allowing his car to leave a metal workers union where the former leader has been holed up.

Da Silva, convicted of corruption, said earlier Saturday that he would turn himself into police to begin serving a 12-year sentence.

However, dozens of supporters did not let a car he was in leave the gate of the union. After a few minutes of discussions, da Silva went back into the union building.

While a warrant for da Silva's arrest has been issued, police have made clear they don't want to attempt to pick him up at the union. That could spark clashes.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told supporters he will comply with an arrest warrant and turn himself in to police.

The former leader spoke on Saturday for the first time since Judge Sergio Moro issued a warrant for his arrest on Thursday.

Da Silva was to present himself to authorities by 5 p.m. Friday, but did not do so. Instead, he stayed holed up in a metal workers union that was the spiritual birthplace of his improbable rise to power in Latin America's largest nation.

Da Silva did not say where or when he would turn himself in. Party leaders have suggested it would be later Saturday. </s> Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was negotiating his surrender Friday from the headquarters of the steelworkers union where he began his rise to national prominence.

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was negotiating his surrender Friday from the headquarters of the steelworkers union where he began his rise to national prominence. Photo: SEBASTIAO MOREIRA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

SÃO PAULO—Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, missed a deadline to turn himself in Friday as he negotiated the terms of his surrender to begin serving a 12-year jail term in a case that has mesmerized this country, said a person familiar with the talks.

The 72-year-old was expected to spend at least a second night in a trade union hall after being ordered on Thursday to surrender by 5 p.m. local time Friday or face arrest.

Mr. da Silva was holed up in the headquarters of a metalworkers union hall in São Bernardo, the industrial suburb of São Paulo where he began his rise to national prominence as a union activist in the 1970s. Both a polarizing and popular figure, the man known across Latin America as Lula had quickly attracted supporters from his Workers’ Party, who gathered outside the union hall and pledged to protect their leader from the police.

The former president’s defenders gathered on a narrow, mostly residential street as Mr. da Silva conferred inside the six-story building, which was draped with banners reading “No to Lula’s imprisonment” and “Election without Lula is a fraud.” A sound truck was parked outside, its giant loudspeakers blasting samba between speeches from Mr. da Silva’s supporters. Street vendors sold beer, ice cream and barbecued meat.

“An innocent man does not surrender,” said Ângela Kinzu, 62, who was among those who arrived at the union headquarters. “We are in a war.”

They and other Brazilians who support Mr. da Silva see the court order and last year’s conviction against him—part of a broad investigation of corruption that has led to the jailing of dozens of public officials and businessmen—as a conspiracy to end his drive to win back the presidency. Polls showed the former president topped all candidates ahead of the October election.

At the union hall, Mr. da Silva’s supporters formed a human barrier to protect their leader through much of Friday. Many wore the red that symbolizes the Workers’ Party, which held power here from 2003 until 2016.

“The right-wing wants to keep the workers away from power,” said Marcos Ferraz, 58, who was selling $7 red T-shirts with Mr. da Silva’s image. “There is a prejudice against the working class.”

Marco Antonio Silva, 26, a law student, said that he joined in to “support and defend democracy.” To him, arresting Mr. da Silva amounts to “an aggression against the constitution.”

The case against Mr. da Silva has led to a spectacular fall from grace for a man who went from fighting a military dictatorship in the early 1980s to leading an increasingly powerful labor movement that brought him to the presidency in 2003.

Assisted by high commodity prices and demand from China, Brazil under Mr. da Silva maintained a balanced federal budget while attracting investment and funding social programs that helped 30 million rise from poverty. That made him famous world-wide, with Barack Obama once hailing him as “the most popular politician on Earth.”

But the China-fueled boom waned in the last decade. His handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, saw Brazil’s debt plunge back into junk status as the economy sank into recession. In 2016, she was impeached and replaced by her conservative former ally, Michel Temer.

Mr. da Silva was found guilty of accepting a penthouse apartment from a construction firm in exchange for favors. The ex-president has denied the charges, and his lawyers have said that he should remain free as he exhausts all appeals.

Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com, Luciana Magalhães at Luciana.Magalhaes@wsj.com and Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com </s> Supporters of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shout slogans as they protest against the order for Lula to turn himself in to police at the metallurgic trade union in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil April 6, 2018. REUTERS/Leonardo... </s> SÃO BERNARDO DO CAMPO: Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a fallen giant of emerging nation politics and still the frontrunner in Brazil’s October presidential elections, was given 24 hours to surrender to police and start a 12-year prison sentence for corruption by late Friday.

However, cheering supporters in the leftist veteran’s hometown Sao Bernardo do Campo urged him to resist arrest.

The boisterous crowd of about 2,000 Workers’ Party faithful stood outside the metal workers’ union building in the town near megacity Sao Paulo, with some vowing to shield him from police.

“We consider this imprisonment illegal,” said Workers’ Party Senator Lindbergh Farias. “Why would he turn himself in, given a situation like this? If they want to arrest him, to imprison him, let them come here.”

Lula, 72, waved from an upper window but by the early hours of Friday he had yet to speak publicly.

The defiant mood of protesters raised the prospect of a dramatic new turn in a legal battle apparently dooming the veteran leftist’s hopes of competing in October presidential elections, despite his strong lead in opinion polls.

“Lula must resist to the end. He won’t run, he will stay here and we won’t hand him over without a struggle,” said Adimir Jose da Silva, 57, a member of the road workers union. “We’ll close the street and maybe we’ll have to confront the police, why not?”

Farias said Lula would only decide whether to surrender in the morning.

Earlier, Judge Sergio Moro, head of Brazil’s huge “Car Wash” anti-graft probe, had ordered Lula to “present himself voluntarily” to police in the southern city of Curitiba, where the probe is based, by 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) Friday.

The order gave Lula just 24 hours to turn himself. It came as a surprise to defense lawyers who’d been expecting Lula to face prison only next week.

Moro said that in view of Lula’s importance, a special cell “was prepared in advance… in which the ex-president will be separated from other prisoners, with no risk for his moral or physical integrity.”

Lula, convicted last year of receiving a seaside apartment as a bribe, had tried to convince the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let him remain at liberty while he pursued lengthy appeals — and campaign for election.

In a marathon session, the high court turned that petition down Thursday, leaving Lula all but certain to go behind bars.

Removal of Lula from the presidential race would open up the field dramatically. Currently, hard-right former army officer Jair Bolsonaro, who openly praises Brazil’s 1964-1985 dictatorship, is in second place in opinion polls.

In his first public reaction, Lula, who was once among the planet’s most popular politicians, called the abruptly announced order “absurd,” CBN radio reported.

Asked if he would comply, the veteran leftist leader, who ruled from 2003-2011 and is seeking a third term in October, said he would act on his lawyers’ advice, CBN reported.

Supporters of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather outside the Metallurgical Union, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, after a judge gave Lula 24 hours to surrender himself and begin a 12-year prison term

Brazil’s left sees Lula’s imminent imprisonment as a plot to prevent the Workers’ Party from returning to power. Party leader Gleisi Hoffmann said the Supreme Court’s denial of Lula’s petition violated “constitutional law and the presumption of innocence” and made Brazil “look like a little banana republic.”

However, there were celebrations on the right and among prosecutors supporting the epic “Car Wash” probe, which has revealed high-level corruption throughout Brazilian business and politics over the last four years.

To them, Lula epitomizes Brazil’s corruption-riddled elite. His conviction is “Car Wash’s” biggest scalp by far.

Operation “Car Wash” was named after the service station where agents initially investigated a minor money laundering scheme in 2014, before realizing that they’d stumbled on a gargantuan web of embezzlement and bribery at state oil company Petrobras and right through the political classes.

But Lula, who grew up poor and with little formal education before becoming a trade union leader and politician, says he will go down fighting.

When he left office after serving two terms in 2011, he had some of the highest approval ratings of any leader in the world.

In theory, once someone has been convicted and lost their lower court appeal, they are barred from running for office under Brazil’s clean slate law.

Still, even in prison, Lula has the right to register as a candidate. It would then be up the Superior Electoral Tribunal to rule on whether his candidacy could stand.

Although Lula would be almost certainly blocked, he could use the process to maintain his political influence. AFP </s> SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil – Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defied an order to turn himself in to police on Friday as he hunkered down with supporters at a metallurgical union that was the spiritual birthplace of his rise to power.

The once wildly popular leader, who rose from poverty to lead Latin America’s largest nation, had until 5 p.m. local time to present himself to police in the city of Curitiba to begin serving a sentence of 12 years and one month for a corruption conviction.

At 5 p.m., however, da Silva remained inside the union building in the Sao Paulo suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, about 260 miles (417 kilometres) northeast of Curitiba. Party leaders said he was planning to address supporters.

Federal judge Sergio Moro, seen by many in Brazil as a crusader against endemic graft, ordered da Silva to turn present himself to police by Friday afternoon.

Two sources close to da Silva told The Associated Press that the former leader would not go to Curitiba, but instead was considering either waiting for police at the union or presenting himself in Sao Paulo. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal deliberations being discussed.

Forcing da Silva out of the union building on a Friday night would be a logistical nightmare given the thousands of supporters outside — clashes would be a possibility — and heavy Friday traffic in Sao Paulo.

“The intention is not to force compliance at any cost, but rather follow the order the best way possible, with tranquility and without a media show,” Luis Antonio Boudens, president of the federal police, said in a statement.

Moro’s warrant on Thursday came after Brazil’s top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, voted 6-5 to deny a request by the former president to stay out of prison while he appealed a conviction that he contends was simply a way to keep him off the ballot in October’s election. He is the front-running presidential candidate despite his conviction.

In a statement, Moro said he was giving da Silva the opportunity to come in of his own accord because he had been Brazil’s president. He also said a special cell away from other inmates had been prepared for da Silva at the jail in Curitiba, where Moro ordered da Silva to present himself.

Last year, Moro convicted da Silva of trading favours with a construction company in exchange for the promise of a beachfront apartment. That conviction was upheld by an appeals court in January.

The speed with which Moro issued the warrant surprised many, as legal observers said there were technicalities from da Silva’s upheld appeal that would not be sorted out until next week.

Such technicalities “were simply a pathology that should be eliminated from the judicial world,” Moro said in his statement.

Late Thursday, thousands began gathering outside the metallurgical union in Sao Bernardo do Campo where the ex-president universally known as “Lula” got his start as a union organizer. Hundreds spent the night sleeping on the street, and by Friday evening thousands were again outside.

However it happens, the jailing of da Silva will mark a colossal fall from grace for a man who rose to power against steep odds in one of the world’s most unequal countries.

Born in the hardscrabble northeast, da Silva rose through the ranks of the union in the country’s industrial south. In 1980, during the military dictatorship, da Silva was arrested in Sao Bernardo do Campo for organizing strikes. He would spend more than a month in jail.

After running for president several times, in 2002 da Silva finally won. He governed from 2003 to 2010, leaving office a world celebrity and with approval ratings in the high 80s.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama once called da Silva the “most popular politician on Earth.”

Since leaving office, things have steadily gotten worse for the leader, who has been charged in several corruption cases. He has always maintained his innocence while continuing to campaign across the country the past year. Despite his legal troubles, he leads preference polls to return to office — if by some chance he is allowed to run.

Like so much in a nation that has become deeply polarized, the fact that da Silva would soon be behind bars was being interpreted differently by supporters and detractors.

“It’s a victory for justice,” Congressman Jair Bolsonaro, a right-leaning former army captain who is second in the polls after da Silva, said Friday in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Antonio Ferreira dos Santos, a 43-year-old bricklayer who was keeping vigil outside the union, had a different take.

“Lula is one of us. He knows what it is like to have a tough life and loves the poor more than the rich,” said dos Santos.

Workers’ Party leaders insist that da Silva, 72, would still be the party’s candidate in October.

Technically, beginning to serve his sentence would not keep da Silva off the ballot. In August, the country’s top electoral court makes final decisions about candidacies. It was expected to deny da Silva’s candidacy under Brazil’s “clean slate” law, which disqualifies people who have had criminal convictions upheld. However, da Silva could appeal such a decision, though doing so from jail would be more complicated.

Da Silva is the latest of many high-profile people to be ensnared in possibly the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history. Over the last four years, Brazilians have experienced near weekly police operations and arrests of the elite, from top politicians to businessmen like former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.

Investigators uncovered a major scheme in which construction companies essentially formed a cartel that doled out inflated contracts from state oil company Petrobras, paying billions in kickbacks to politicians and businessmen.

While Moro, who oversees many cases in the so-Called “Operation Car Wash,” is hailed as a hero by many, others see him as a partisan hit man out to get da Silva and the Workers’ Party.

Da Silva was convicted in July of helping a construction company get sweetheart contracts in exchange for the promise of the apartment. He denies any wrongdoing in that case or in several other corruption cases that have yet to be tried. </s> SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO: Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the controversial frontrunner in Brazil's October presidential election, ignored a deadline to surrender and start a 12-year prison sentence for corruption on Friday (Apr 6).

Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers' union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, the 72-year-old let the 5pm (2000 GMT) deadline pass without public comment.

The development further heated up the drama over attempts to put behind bars the veteran leftist, who ruled from 2003-2011 and leads in polls ahead of the elections.

He was ordered Thursday by Brazil's top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, to surrender voluntarily to police and begin incarceration in the southern city of Curitiba.

Moro gave him 24 hours, saying the cell, a separate room with its own toilet, was ready, and that Lula would not be handcuffed - if he came quietly.

It was not clear what the next step would be. However, local media reported that Lula's lawyers were negotiating the surrender.

It would be impossible for police to arrest him by force without the likelihood of major crowd trouble.

Much of the day, Lula had been waiting in hope that the country's top appeals court, the Superior Tribunal of Justice, would temporarily suspend his arrest warrant. However, the petition was rejected shortly before the deadline expired.

Lula was convicted last year of taking a luxury apartment as a kickback from a big construction company. He lost a lower court appeal in January and saw his sentence increased from nine to 12 years.

But to his Workers' Party faithful, Lula is a victim of a right-wing plot to prevent him from returning to power.

The longer he remained holed up inside the union building, the bigger the crowd grew outside.

Renata Swiecik, an unemployed mother of four who had joined the human shield, urged Lula not to hand himself over.

"We are here to resist to the end. Lula will not be a prisoner in 2018, he'll be president and help the people once more," said Swiecik, 31.

Lula's imprisonment is being celebrated on the right and among prosecutors supporting the "Car Wash" probe, which has revealed systemic, high-level embezzlement and bribery throughout Brazilian business and politics over the last four years.

To them, Lula epitomizes Brazil's corruption-riddled elite. His conviction is the biggest "Car Wash" scalp by far.

"I want Lula in prison, I want a better future and with him in the leadership we won't have that," said Maura Moraes de Oliveira, 51, who works as a maid in Curitiba.

"Not only Lula should be locked up, but all the corrupt, a complete cleaning."

Operation "Car Wash" was named after the service station where agents initially investigated a minor money laundering scheme in 2014, before realizing that they'd stumbled on a gargantuan web of embezzlement and bribery at state oil company Petrobras and right through the political classes.

Lula, who grew up poor and with little formal education before becoming a trade union leader and politician, has long said he will go down fighting.

In theory, once someone has been convicted and lost a lower court appeal, he or she is barred from running for office under Brazil's clean-slate law.

Still, even in prison, Lula has the right to register as a candidate. It would then be up to the Superior Electoral Tribunal to rule on whether his candidacy could stand.

Although Lula would almost certainly be blocked, he could use the process to maintain his political influence. </s> Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva has handed himself over to police to begin a 12-year prison sentence for corruption, according to local media.

The 72-year-old left on Saturday the steel-workers union building where he had sought refuge while defying for some 24 hours a court deadline to submit to custody.

Lula was taken away from the premises in an industrial suburb of Sao Paulo in a convoy of black police cars, Globo TV reported.

An earlier attempt to leave the offices had been blocked by a crowd of supporters who opposed his arrest and blocked the exit of the building.

Lula is now expected to be flown to the southern city of Curitiba to start serving his sentence, where a "specially designed jail cell" awaited the former president, said Al Jazeera's Daniel Schweimler, reporting from Sao Paulo.

'I will come out of this bigger, stronger'

Lula's lawyers had lodged several requests to avoid jail until exhausting all appeals against his corruption conviction, which were all ultimately unsuccessful.

The leftist politician, which was president from 2003 to 2011, was convicted in July of corruption and money-laundering in connection with the renovation of a beachside penthouse he was planning to buy.

The renovation was bankrolled by a company seeking contracts with the state oil giant Petrobras.

The case was linked to the massive Lava Jato corruption scandal surrounding Petrobras, which has led to the jailing of dozens of entrepreneurs and politicians.

Judge Sergio Moro sentenced Lula to nine-and-a-half years in prison, and an appeals court raised the jail term to 12 years and one month.

The judge had ordered Lula to report to a police station in Curitiba by 5pm (20:00 GMT) on Friday. But Lula skipped the deadline and spent the night holed up inside the headquarters of the steel-workers union.

Thousands of his supporters surrounded the building overnight, dissuading the police from trying to arrest him.

He finally emerged on Saturday morning for an impromptu mass to commemorate his late wife, Marisa Leticia, who died last year.

In an hour-long speech at the event, Lula accused the judiciary and Brazil's most powerful media conglomerate of assisting what he described as a right-wing "coup" with the ultimate aim of preventing him from competing in this year's presidential elections.

Despite his legal problems, opinion polls suggest that he will win in the October 7 vote.

During his speech, Lulatold cheering supporters that Brazil's top anti-corruption judge "lied" about him being given the luxury apartment by a big construction firm as a kickback.

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

But, he added: "I will comply with their warrant".

Lula also rejected multiple suggestions of fleeing or seeking asylum abroad.

"You'll see that I will come out of this bigger, stronger," he said, promising to prove his innocence.

The union where Lula had sought refuge served as the launch pad for his career nearly four decades ago, when he led nationwide strikes that helped to end Brazil's 1964-85 military dictatorship.

Lula's everyman style and unvarnished speeches electrified masses and eventually won him two terms as president, from 2003 to 2011, when he oversaw robust economic growth and falling inequality amid a commodities boom.

He left office with a sky-high approval rate of 83 percent and was once called "the most popular politician on Earth" by former US President Barack Obama.
Former President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva surrenders to police following a two-day stand-off at a steelworkers' union building in São Bernardo do Campo.