Sentenced

Brazil’s superior court on July 12 found former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva guilty of corruption and money laundering and sentenced him to almost 10 years in prison. Silva was planning a return to politics and a campaign for president. Prosecutors uncovered evidence against Silva in a scandal involving Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil company. The company and other powerful contractors paid out billions in bribes to politicians like Silva. Silva’s lawyers are launching an appeal.

Banned

The European Court of Human Rights on July 11 ruled in favor of the Belgium ban on wearing a full-face veil in public. The law, passed six years ago, came under pressure after a Belgian citizen and a Moroccan national said it violated their rights to privacy and freedom of religion. Belgian politicians argued that the ban provides facial recognition necessary to preserve democracy in the nation and promotes freedom. A similar argument has been behind laws passed in Austria, France, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands restricting the full-face veil.

Died

Chuck Blazer, a disgraced U.S. soccer official, died on July 12 at age 72. Blazer was the ex-boss of CONCACAF, the North and Central American soccer governing body. He also served on the executive committee for FIFA, governing body for world soccer from 1997 to 2013. While part of these organizations, Blazer accepted millions in bribes, including over $20 million in payments from his time at CONCACAF alone. The FBI and the IRS arrested him in 2011 for failing to file five years’ worth of tax returns. Reportedly, that was when he agreed to become an inside informant on corruption in FIFA in exchange for mitigated penalties. He pleaded guilty to bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion in 2013, but his evidence helped prosecute dozens of FIFA officials and clean up the organization.

Died

Neil Welch, the FBI agent behind a major political corruption sting operation, died on June 29 at age 90. Welch joined the FBI after law school in 1951 and became a special agent in charge of field offices in Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia, and, later, New York. His landmark case was the Abscam investigation, an operation that stretched on for years, culminating in 1980 with charges against a senator and six congressmen when Welch proved they accepted bribes in return for political favors. He also negotiated the surrender of a notorious killer, Winston Moseley. Welch talked to him for an hour, with Moseley’s gun on his chest, until the man gave in. Welch left the bureau in 1980 and later served as justice secretary for the state of Kentucky.

Sued

Faith-based pregnancy centers in Hawaii are suing the state over a law they claim forces them to promote abortion. Senate Bill 501 says limited-service pregnancy centers must post a statement in the viewing areas of their clinics directing women to public programs that include abortion services. Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor’s pregnancy center and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates are behind a lawsuit, claiming the bill violates their First Amendment right to free speech. The bill, which includes large fines for violators, has become state law, but the case is still in court.