Irish chief Hickey freed pending ticket probe

A Brazilian court granted conditional release from jail Monday to top Irish Olympic official Patrick Hickey due to ill health while he is investigated over an alleged ticket scam.

Rio de Janeiro Judge Fernando de Almeida agreed in a ruling to "revoke the preventive imprisonment ordered against the patient Patrick Joseph Hickey," but ordered him not to leave Brazil.

Hickey, 71, is the highest-profile suspect in an alleged scam to illegally sell tickets to this month's Rio Olympic Games for thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors have estimated the profits from the black market sales at $3 million.

Hickey is an International Olympic Committee member and head of the Olympic Council of Ireland and the European Olympic Committees.

He was arrested at dawn on August 17 at a luxury Rio hotel where he was staying with other IOC members.

He was held in Rio's Bangu maximum security prison.

"It does not seem that his release will pose any obstacle or risk for public order or criminal proceedings," de Almeida ruled.

Hickey had still not left jail by early evening Monday, the prisons service told AFP in an email.

His lawyers had requested his release "given the patient's critical state of health," court documents showed.

Hickey's lawyer Anne Marie James said last week that he has a "serious heart condition."

- Jail concerns -

Hickey spent one night in a Rio hospital after his detention, which stunned the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the height of the Games.

His family urged the Irish government to "urgently intervene in addressing the extremely worrying issues surrounding his arrest and detention," in a statement last week via their lawyer.

James said the family were "gravely concerned" about the manner of Hickey's arrest, his detention in a high-security prison without charge, his health and his right to a fair hearing.

On August 26, more than a week after his detention, she said Hickey had still not been charged nor been able to apply for bail.

She said the family believe he has been through a "degrading and humiliating ordeal."

IOC president Thomas Bach said Hickey had the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

The Olympic Council of Ireland has commissioned an independent review of its handling of Rio 2016 ticketing arrangements.

- Irish, British suspects -

The courts on Saturday provisionally released another Irish suspect: Kevin Mallon, director of British hospitality firm THG.

Mallon was arrested on August 5 and was also held at Bangu.

Police said they seized hundreds of tickets from Mallon.

Mallon was caught in a hotel in the heart of the Olympic zone, selling tickets to a group of buyers.

Tickets, including for the Rio opening ceremony, with a face value of about $1,400 were offered for sale at $8,000, police said.

On August 21, they seized passports from three other Irish Olympic officials suspected in the scam: Kevin Kilty, Dermot Henihan and Stephen Martin.

Police have issued arrest warrants for several other suspects including Marcus Evans, a British businessman who is the chairman of the Ipswich football club in England.

Source: AFP