SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a defiant public defence yesterday after being convicted of corruption and money laundering, accusing his political opponents of trying to prevent him from becoming president again.

A federal judge found Silva guilty the previous day and sentenced him to nearly 10 years in prison, though the charismatic leader remains free while an appealis heard.

In a brief, at times emotional speech, Silva told supporters in Sao Paulo that the court had no proof and the conviction was politically motivated. To cheers, he said he wants to run for re-election next year.

“From this moment I want to ask the Workers’ Party for the right to be a candidate for president,” he shouted.

“Lula for president!” the crowd responded.

The man more commonly known as “Lula” was accused of receiving a beachfront apartment and repairs to the property as kickbacks from construction company OAS. Silva never owned the apartment, but prosecutors argued it was intended for him.

The case is part of Brazil’s largest-ever graft investigation, and dozens of top politicians and businesspeople have already been jailed. But Silva is the highest-profile figure to be convicted so far, and the first Brazilian ex-president to be found guilty in a criminal proceeding at least since the restoration of democracy in the 1980s.

Silva was Brazil’s first working-class president and remains beloved in many quarters, though the corruption probe has dented his reputation. He faces charges in four other cases but has been considered a front-runner for next year’s election.

He left office at the end of 2010 with sky-high popularity after riding an economic boom to fund social programmes that pulled millions out of poverty and expanding the international role of Latin America’s biggest nation.

The case now goes before a group of magistrates. If they uphold the conviction, Silva would be barred from seeking office.

Prosecutors said they would appeal seeking to increase the 9½-year sentence.