SHOTLIST:

1. Various of the press conference of Gustavo Amarilla Arnica, Judge of the Paraguayan court
2. SOUNDBITE: GUSTAVO AMARILLA ARNICA, Judge of the Paraguayan court
3. Various of the Paraguayan court
4. Various of Ronaldinho in the Paraguayan court
5. Various de Ronaldinho at the end of the hearing in the Paraguayan court
-With images courtesy of TV Justicia Paraguay-


STORYLINE:


The Brazilian football star Ronaldinho Gaúcho was finally released, after having appeared before Gustavo Amarilla, a judge in the case that was investigating him for having entered Paraguay with false documentation. The former football player had been arrested in March of this year and since then he had been in prison, first in a detention center and then in a hotel in Asunción. The magistrate decided to give the right to freedom to him and his brother, Roberto de Assis Moreira, who will now travel to Rio de Janeiro.

The Prosecutor's Office had highlighted in its letter that Ronaldinho did not participate in the manufacturing plan for the false Paraguayan passports and identity cards that were seized from them. Of his brother, they had said that "there are no indications that he has personal traits or criminal behavior that in a field of regulated freedom endangers society."

In this way, 'Dinho', champion of the 2002 World Cup, was benefited with the "conditional suspension of the procedure." In addition, he agreed to pay $ 90,000 in cash as reparation for the social damage caused by his conduct. The money will go to the National University of Asunción, the Hospital de Clínicas and the solidarity campaign “Todos Somos Bianca”, an initiative that seeks to help a girl who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and needs to buy special medication to save her life.

For this to be maintained, the former footballer is obliged to inform his tax address and his personal telephone number for one year, although he has every right to change it if he wants, as long as he notifies the Justice. In turn, the magistrate made it clear that he is free to travel to any part of the world he wishes and will no longer be obliged to appear for this cause.

On the other hand, for his brother Roberto, the judge allowed the suspension of the trial sentence. "The Paraguayan Justice sentences you to two years for the use of these false documents, but it also benefits you with the suspension of this trial sentence," explained Amarilla. The conditions include maintaining the real address and the telephone number, so as not to lose connectivity. In turn, he ordered the payment of $ 110,000 that will be used to purchase equipment for the fight against Covid-19 and the obligation to appear every four months for two years before the court of his jurisdiction in Brazil.

These amounts will be deducted from the bond of 1.6 million dollars that they had deposited to obtain house arrest. The rest will be returned.

Both were called before the office for the hearing in which the judge took into consideration the conclusive accusation of four prosecutors who asked for "a procedural exit" to avoid the oral trial. The former soccer player and his brother had been arrested on March 6, two days after arriving at the air terminal where they exhibited real Paraguayan passports with false content to the immigration authorities.

Currently, they have been under house arrest in a four-star hotel in Asunción since April 6 of this year, after being detained for a month at the headquarters of the Special Operations Police.

The De Assis Moreira brothers had entered Paraguay on March 4 of this year to develop an agenda related to the promotion of poor children. The idol of Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint Germain and AC Milan was scheduled to open the casino of a Brazilian businessman and launch a memoir, a program that was canceled with his capture.

Now, Ronaldinho and Roberto will travel on a private flight to their city of residence, Rio de Janeiro, as soon as they obtain the corresponding permits.

SOUNDBITE: GUSTAVO AMARILLA ARNICA, Judge of the Paraguayan court

"(The defendants) They told the court that the money they want to repair the social damage established in this sentence, from which then they would have to make a discount of those amounts, 110 thousand plus 90 thousand (dollars) and the rest has already been ordered the total dedication to those people (Ronaldinho Gaúcho and his brother)
The court decided to order the sum of 110 thousand US dollars and its equivalent in guaranies, what we do is repair the damage in that equivalent, in national currency, to the Ministry of Justice through an account so that that money is used properly exclusively for the containment of Covid-19 in all the prisons of the country".