Brasilia, Mar 15 (Prensa Latina) Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva received the human rights award from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest labor union confederation of the United States and Canada, it was reported in Brasilia on Friday.

'AFL-CIO recognizes Lula's decades of struggle to the benefit of workers' rights, Brazilian democracy strengthens and his fight for equality and justice in the world grows,' the acknowledgement highlights, according to a press release by the Workers Party (PT) of Brazil.

'AFL-CIO women and men grant this award to Lula and promise to continue in our solidarity with the struggle for justice and democracy in Brazil and the world', the PT underlines.

The award is named after George Meany and Lane Kirkland, former president of the union confederation, and began to be delivered in 1999, year of his death.

Lula has been imprisoned since April in the Superintendence of Federal Police in Curitiba, in southern Parana, after receiving a 12 year and one month sentence imposed by the Federal Regional Court of the Fourth Region for alleged crimes of corruption.

The former worker leader was subjected to a second conviction in February in the anti-corruption operation Lava Jato, this time to 12 years and 11 months.

Judge Gabriela Hardt, who interimly replaced former Judge Sergio Moro, current Minister of Justice and Public Security, was responsible for the second sentence.