Porto Alegre, Brazil, Jumada I 07, 1439, January 24, 2018, SPA -- A Brazilian court on Wednesday confirmed a corruption conviction and nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence that had been handed to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, according to dpa. Two of the three judges backed upholding the conviction in a decision that could bar Lula from contesting the October presidential election, which he had been expected to win. The third judge at the appeals court in the southern city of Porto Alegre was still to vote, though it will not change the result. Lula was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison in July for the renovation of a beachside penthouse by a company seeking government contracts - a case linked to the massive Lava Jato (Car Wash) corruption scandal at the state oil company Petrobras. --SPA 22:09 LOCAL TIME 19:09 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w595274