Paraguay court releases Ronaldinho into house arrest in Asuncion hotel
A Paraguayan judge on Tuesday ordered the release of Brazilian football great Ronaldinho and his brother into house arrest at a hotel in downtown Asuncion.
Judge Gustavo Amarilla told reporters that he had ordered the “continuation of house arrest in a hotel for Ronaldinho and his brother.”
They were jailed specifically a month ago on Monday to await trial on charges of using false passports to enter Paraguay. Lawyers for the men posted bail of $1.6 million.
The ruling means the brothers can swap their grim police cell block - which also housed Paraguay’s former soccer federation chief and the ex-speaker of the low house of parliament - for a plush Colonial-style hotel in central Asuncion.
The brochure of the refurbished 107-room Palmaroga hotel, situated in the capital’s historic center, describes it as offering “a seamless mixture of early 1900s Renaissance grace and modern comfort along with luxury.”
“I've the assurance of the hotel managers that they, at their own expense, can observe house arrest there,” Amarilla told a news conference.
Paraguay’s appeals court last month rejected a request release a the pair, meaning the two-time world player of the entire year spent his 40th birthday behind bars.
With Paraguay’s capital in lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, the judge communicated his ruling in a cellphone call to the brothers, with prosecutors and defence lawyers - and TV cameras - present.
A beaming Ronaldinho, in a black tee-shirt and matching headband, gave a thumbs up sign showing he understood the terms of his release.
- ‘Fake passports’ -
He and his brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira - who's also his business manager - primarily encountered no problems after arriving in Asuncion from neighboring Brazil on March 4.
However, shortly after their arrival, the brothers were taken into police custody when investigators raided their hotel following discovery that their passports were fake.
Ronaldinho, given a rock star’s welcome to Asuncion by around 2,000 children and teenagers, said the passports had been given to him by sponsors of a charity dealing with disadvantaged children.
Fourteen other people have already been charged in the case, which includes expanded into a study into possible money laundering.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the Paraguayan businesswoman responsible for the charity foundation that invited Ronaldinho.
Ronaldinho, considered one of the biggest footballers ever, 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 has proved a favorite inmate of the jail in police headquarters, donating a trophy to the winning team in a recently available prisoners’ futsal tournament.
