A Brazilian lawyer working on behalf of ex-OCI President Pat Hickey has released a statement contradicting claims made by police following the 71-year-old's arrest.
Hickey was put in custody last week amid allegations of involvement in a ticket touting scandal.
Hickey was arrested by Brazilian police at his hotel in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. At the time, officials said Hickey had attempted to evade capture. When they arrived at his hotel room, he was not present. His wife told them that he had returned to Ireland. He was later found in another room at the same hotel reserved under the name of a relative.
The statement asserts that Hickey's wife said this as she had 'panicked' upon seeing 10 men at her door at 6am. The claim that he attempted to escape is rejected.
He was sleeping already for two days in one of the three rooms that were allocated to him and his family, due to an insomnia, and he did not want to disturb his wife. It would be ridiculous to try to escape and go to the next room, which was officially booked to him.
Hickey is currently in Rio's Bangu prison sharing a cell with another Irish man Kevin Mallon. Mallon, who is the Dublin finance director of British company THG was arrested on August 5th while in possession of 823 OCI tickets for the Olympic Games.
The statement also says that Hickey's arrest 'has no legal support'.
via The Journal.ie
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
