Bernie Sanders has called for Lula da Silva, Brazil’s former president, to be released from prison. If you haven’t been following events there, here’s the short version:

The center-left Brazilian Workers Party (PT) lifted millions of people out of poverty. PT leader Lula served the two consecutive terms he was allowed under Brazil’s Constitution and his two-term successor Dilma Rousseff served one complete term and much of a second. Unable to beat the PT at the ballot box, the Brazilian right turned to lawfare.

After an unrelated corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil company Petrobrass, Rousseff was impeached for her use of a common accounting practice. Lula, who was now eligible to run for a third term, announced his intention to do so and immediately had a commanding lead in every poll. He was then arrested for corruption. This, too, was unrelated to the Petrobras scandal. He was accused of accepting a small apartment as a bribe. This in turn led to the election of neofascist Jair Boslonaro to the presidency. Meanwhile, new evidence uncovered by the Intercept shows that prosecutors in Lula’s case were working closely with the (officially neutral) judge and that they were motivated by zeal to prevent the PT from winning the 2018 election.