Suspicion of murder: Brazilian prosecutors charge German diplomat – update

On Monday, August 29, Brazilian prosecutors filed charges against German diplomat Uwe Herbert Hahn, who holds the rank of consul at the German consulate in Rio de Janeiro, accused of murdering his Belgian husband.

The judiciary also investigates reports that the accused left the country after a court released him from police custody. The diplomat was charged with aggravated murder by the Rio de Janeiro city prosecutor’s office after his husband, Walter Biot, died earlier this month.

On Friday, a state court released Hahn from pre-trial detention, where he had been since August 7, as the prosecutor’s office had missed the original deadline to present the charges.

According to the Brazilian news portal G1, Hahn flew out of Brazil and arrived in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, early Monday, August 29, local time. Prosecutors said they were still investigating whether the consul had left the country.

A document from the prosecutor’s office said that “the crime was committed by cruel means: severe beatings to which the victim was subjected, causing intense and unnecessary suffering,” according to the prosecutor’s office, which added that the victim was unable to respond due to taking alcohol and anxiety medication.

Prosecutors said the defendant “harbored a sense of obsession for the victim, oppressed him financially and psychologically, and failed to acknowledge that the victim was attempting to gain some degree of independence from the defendant, whether economically or by establishing friendly relationships with others.”

UPDATE

The prosecutor’s office announced that the defendant has fled to Germany and is included on Interpol’s wanted list.