Judge Sergio Moro said that Lula, who served as president from 2003 to 2011 and has been an iconic and powerful political force in Brazil for two decades, will be judged for allegedly accepting 3.7 million reais ($1.11 million) in bribes connected to a sweeping kickback probe at state-run oil company Petrobras.
Lula's hand-chosen successor Dilma Rousseff was dismissed from the presidency last month after the Senate found her guilty of breaking budget rules.
