Brazil court reduces ex-president's jail term

Brazil's second-highest court has reduced the sentence of jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by almost three years.

"The vote of the rapporteur is in favour to reduce the condemnation from 12 years and one month to eight years and 10 months plus a fine of 175 days [an amount of money equivalent to 175 of salaries, to be paid by the former president]," Al Jazeera quoted Reynaldo Soares de Fonseca, judge and president of the Superior Court of Justice, as saying .

The Supreme Court of Justice was hearing a request filed by Silva's lawyers seeking to annul the former president's corruption conviction or reduce his sentence.

Silva is in jail since April 2018 on corruption and money-laundering conviction for accepting a luxury beachside apartment as a bribe from an engineering company in the "Carwash" graft scandal.

Notably, this opens the possibility he could be moved to house arrest later this year.

Silva, popular for introducing social programmes to reduce poverty, held the office from 2003 to 2010.