Former Brazilian soccer superstar Ronaldinho Gaucho was arrested this week alongside his brother after they utilized fake Paraguayan passports to enter the South American country. The legendary soccer player had traveled to Paraguay to do publicity for a charity event hosted by casino owner Nelson Belotti, and was detained after entering the capital, Asuncion, on Wednesday.
Ronaldinho and his brother, Roberto Assis, were questioned by Paraguayan authorities on Thursday before authorities announced that they would keep both of them in prison until their court case was resolved. Osmar Legal, the prosecutor on the case, argued that the brothers were at risk to escape back to their native Brazil, a country that does not extradite their citizens.
After a six-hour court hearing, judge Clara Ruiz Diaz ruled that the pair would remain in prison, despite their lawyers arguing that they were innocent, and that Ronaldinho has a heart condition that requires medical attention; per the Daily News report, the defense did not have the proper documentation for that claim. The judge also shot down a request for house arrest by the defense.
The official charge against the Assis brothers is “using a public document with false content,” according to a tweet by the Public Ministry of Paraguay. According to the Daily News, the man who provided the pair with the falsified passports last month, Wilmondes Sousa Lira, has also been detained.
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