Paraguay appeals court rejects Ronaldinho release bid
The 39-year-old World Cup winner and his brother,
Roberto de Assis Moreira, have been held in a police cell since last
Friday accused of entering Paraguay using fake passports.
Lawyers representing the brothers filed an
appeal on Thursday, two days after another court rejected their request
to release the pair on bail or to house arrest.
"The risk of flight and the risk of
obstruction of the investigation, which is the basis of the detention
measure against the Assis Moreira brothers, has not changed," the
appeals court judges said in a statement.
Sixteen people have so far been implicated in the fake passport scandal, public prosecutor Federico Delfino said.
The brothers arrived in Asuncion from Brazil last
week and showed their passports to immigration police, who did not
immediately notice any problem.
Hours later, when the passports were
determined to be fake, investigators raided the football star's hotel
room and seized the brothers' identity cards and travel documents.
Two-time world player of the year, Ronaldinho
said the passports had been given to him by people who had invited him
to attend conferences sponsored by a charity working with disadvantaged
children.
An arrest warrant has been issued
against the Paraguayan businesswoman in charge of the charity foundation
that invited Ronaldinho.
The country's migration director has resigned over the affair.
One of the investigating prosecutors, Marcelo
Pecci said the fake documents found in the possession of the Brazilian
brothers had cost $18,000 to produce.
Two detained men, Sebastian Medina and Ivan
Campos, are accused of the "indirect production of public documents with
false content, the use of public documents with false content and
criminal association."
Ronaldinho, considered one of the greatest
footballers of all time, was a star of Brazil's 2002 World Cup win and
played for European giants Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan,
among others.
He is being held in police cells alongside 25
police officers accused of various crimes and four politicians,
including the former president of the Paraguayan Football Association
and an ex-president of the House of Deputies.
Ronaldinho has taken part in a football match involving inmates and riot police, a police source told AFP.
Paraguay appeals court rejects Ronaldinho release bid
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