Ronaldinho remains in prison: the former Brazilian football star and his brother, arrested in Paraguay for using false passports, saw their preventive detention confirmed on Saturday by a judge from Asuncion. The 2005 Ballon d'Or and 2002 world champion had already spent Friday night behind bars with his brother Roberto.
The two men were presented in the morning to a judge. "They have committed a serious act which threatens the state. They entered and remained in the country illegally. The conditions for preventive detention are met, "said judge Clara Ruiz Diaz. The two men are accused of entering Paraguayan territory in possession of false passports.
The two brothers' lawyer, Tarek Tuma, described the judge's decision as "irrational, arbitrary and light" and asked for the magistrate's recusal. He recalled that the first prosecutor in charge of the case, Federico Delfino, had asked for the charges to be dropped and denounced the decision of the State Attorney General, Sandra Quiñonez, to appoint Osmar Legal to replace Delfino. The new prosecutor immediately requested the first detention of the two brothers on Friday evening.
Ronaldinho arrived with his brother in Asuncion on Wednesday to promote a book and participate in various charity events. Paraguayan police searched the hotel where the two men were staying and investigators there discovered false passports made in the Paraguayan capital a few months ago, according to Interior Minister Euclides Acevedo
According to a police official, Gilberto Fleitas, Ronaldinho received these false passports from the hands of the Brazilian agent Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who was arrested. Two Paraguayan nationals, Maria Isabel Gayoso and Esperanza Apolonia Caballer, were also detained.
Twists and turns
Ronaldinho had been deprived of a passport by the Brazilian justice at the end of 2018, following his conviction of a fine of 2.5 million dollars (approximately 2.25 million euros), which he never paid, for having built a jetty without authorization at the edge of a lake in a protected area according to the Brazilian media.
Since the arrival of the former player of Paris SG, Barcelona and AC Milan and his brother in Paraguay, the case has seen many twists and turns. They were heard for the first time on Thursday, but the prosecutor initially in charge of the file estimated that they had been “deceived” and requested the abandonment of the proceedings against the two Brazilians “with the condition that they admit to having committed the offense for which they are accused, that is, the possession of false documents ”.
The two men had to explain themselves again to a judge on Friday. They left the magistrate's office free after a seven-hour interrogation. Before being caught by the public prosecutor who issued an arrest warrant requesting their detention on remand. Less than two hours after their hearing, the 2002 world champion and his brother found themselves in a police van to be imprisoned.
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