UPDATE: Supporters have blocked surrender of former Brazilian president
Published:Saturday | April 7, 2018 | 11:36 AM
Supporters of former Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva have stopped him surrendering to police after he agreed to end a stand-off over his 12-year prison sentence.
Scores of supporters blocked Lula's car from leaving the trade union building near Sao Paulo where he has been staying.
The former president announced earlier that he would surrender to authorities.
This after a court ordered him to begin serving a 12-year prison term for corruption.
Two last-minute appeals to have his arrest warrant suspended have failed.
"I will comply with their warrant," Lula, 72, told supporters in the suburb of Sao Bernardo do Campo, where he built his trade union and political career.
However, he continued to insist that he is innocent, and that the case against him was politically motivated.
Lula says his conviction was designed to stop him from running for president in national elections, scheduled to take place in October. Most opinion polls have him ahead of his rivals.