Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was released after 18 months in prison on charges of corruption.

Lula raised his fist to show his joy when he left federal police headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba on November 8. He was quickly surrounded by hundreds of reporters and supporters.

Addressing the crowd, former president Lula vowed to "continue to fight" for ordinary Brazilian people and expose the "false face of the federal police". His husky voice was sometimes drowned out by cheers and fireworks.

"I don't think I can stand here to talk to you today," he said. "Now I will go to Sao Paulo and then the doors in Brazil will open for me to go across this country."

A federal judge signed the release of Lula after determining "there is no basis to enforce the sentence". One day earlier, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that only defendants should be imprisoned when they have no legal means to appeal controversial judgments.

Lula ran Brazil for two presidential terms from 2003 to 2011. He was indicted and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in July 2017 for allegedly accepting $ 1.2 million in bribes from the company. OAS SA construction. Prosecutors said OAS SA used the money to renovate Lula's beachfront home in exchange for helping him win the contract with state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro. Lula said the charges against him were politically motivated to prevent him from participating in the 2018 presidential race.