RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a hearing that started on Saturday morning, March 7th, and lasted over four hours, the Paraguayan court decided to keep Ronaldinho Gaúcho and his brother, Assis, imprisoned for using forged documents.
The order of pre-trial detention was handed down by Judge Clara Ruíz Díaz. Both will remain in prison in the Specialized National Police of Paraguay in Asunción. The pre-trial detention period may last up to six months.
Prosecutor Osmar Legal requested that the Brazilians be kept in pre-trial detention alleging “risk of flight and that Brazil does not extradite its citizens”. On the other hand, the defense claimed that the businessman Assis is suffering from a heart condition and needs medical attention (they have not provided medical exams or certificates required by Paraguayan law) and tried, unsuccessfully, to convert the case into house arrest.
Ronaldinho and Assis were remanded into custody at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office (MP) to prevent them from leaving Paraguay (they had bought a ticket back to Brazil for Saturday morning). On Thursday, the MP had decided not to formally prosecute them, but the next day Judge Mirko Valinotti, of the Asunción Criminal Court of Guarantees, rejected this and granted the Prosecution ten days to investigate the case and deliver a final opinion.
During Saturday’s hearing, the attorneys defending Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Assis in Paraguay lodged an appeal contesting Judge Mirko Valinotti’s ruling, contrary to the initial suggestion of the Prosecutor’s Office. The Attorney General of the State, Sandra Quiñonez, ordered the replacement of the prosecutors in the case.
Three people have already been charged after the initial investigations: Brazilian entrepreneur Wilmondes Sousa Lira, named by Ronaldinho’s defense as the one behind the forged documents, and Paraguayans María Isabel Galloso and Esperanza Apolonia Caballero.
Wilmondes was indicted for producing forged documents, using public documents with a falsified content and identity theft. María Isabel and Esperanza were also indicted for using public documents with a falsified content and placed under house arrest.
Understanding Ronaldinho’s case in Paraguay
Ronaldinho and Assisi landed in Asunción on Wednesday morning to take part in an Angelical Fraternity Foundation NGO event. Both also travelled to the country at the invitation of entrepreneur Nelson Belotti, owner of a casino that features the former player as ambassador. On landing, the passports drew the attention of authorities.
The two became suspects for the use of forged documents, but only hours later, in the evening, the local Ministry of the Interior and the MP carried out a search operation.
According to the MP, passports, ID cards and the cell phones of R10 and Assis were seized at the Yacht y Golf Club. According to the Minister of the Interior Euclides Acevedo, the two were to remain in custody at the hotel until last Thursday morning, when they left to give their deposition.