text: Prison On 5 April 2018, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) voted 6–5 to deny Lula's habeas corpus petition. The court ruled that Lula must begin serving his sentence relating to his 12 July 2017 graft conviction for taking bribes from an engineering firm in return for help land contracts with state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, despite his not having exhausted all of his appeals, but rather only one appeal, at which the appellate court had unanimously upheld his sentence. Brazilian financial markets rallied, as the decision increased the chances a market-friendly candidate winning the election. Lula and his party vowed to continue his campaign from prison following the court's decision that he must surrender himself by 6 April. The head of Brazil's army, General Eduardo Villas Boas, called for Lula to be placed behind bars. Following Judge Moro's issuance of an arrest warrant for Lula on 6 April 2018, Lula appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee to - in addition to his primary case - take emergency action by asking the government of Brazil to prevent his arrest until he had exhausted all appeals, arguing that the Brazilian Supreme Court had narrowly adopted its ruling with only six votes against five, which "shows the need for an independent court"; the Committee ultimately denied Lula's request. In June 2018, the Committee denied Lula's request.
  Lula failed to turn himself in at the scheduled time, but he did so on the following day on 7 April 2018. After Lula was imprisoned, protesters took to the streets in cities across Brazil. Lula's imprisonment led to the formation of the Free Lula Movement.
  On 28 May 2018, the UN Human Rights Committee initiated an investigation into Lula's case. In August, the Committee "requested Brazil to take all necessary measures to ensure that Lula can enjoy and exercise his political rights while in prison, as candidate in the 2018 presidential elections"; Brazil’s foreign ministry noted that the recommendation had no legal significance.