The German consul in Rio de Janeiro, Uwe Herbert Hahn, had his arrest converted into preventive custody on Sunday afternoon (07), after undergoing a custody hearing. The decision is made by Judge Rafael de Almeida Rezende, from the Custody Hearing Center in Benfica.
Hahn is suspected of the death of her husband, the 52-year-old Belgian Henri Maximillen Biot. Biot was found dead last Friday night (5), in the apartment where the two lived in Ipanema, south of the city.
The diplomat’s defense asked for the release of the arrest, claiming that he has consular immunity. Despite this, the Justice understood that the benefit does not apply to the case, as it is an episode outside the consular environment and without any relation to the functions performed by Uwe Hahn.
In addition, the magistrate understands that it is important to keep the consul in prison, in order to avoid jeopardizing the collection of evidence and to ensure that there is no escape.
According to delegate Antenor Lopes, director of the General Police Department of the Capital, the consul claimed that her husband had fallen and hit his head. “The body has multiple injuries and the cause of death is a trauma to the back of the head. We understand that his version is incompatible with the evidence produced by the expertise. Delegate Camila Lourenço, from the 14th Precinct (Leblon), understands that it was the case of a flagrant notification,” Lopes told CNN.
Judge Rafael de Almeida Rezende’s decision follows the same line. “As well highlighted by the police authority, proof of the existence of the crime of authorship can be extracted from the autopsy examination report, which attested to the existence of indications of various injuries on the victim’s body, resulting from a blunt action, one of them being compatible with bruise and the other with the use of a cylindrical instrument (supposedly a wooden stick), as well as the local expertise, which detected blood splatter on the property, notably in the couple’s bedroom and bathroom, compatible with the dynamics of violent death” , punctuates the document.
The German Embassy in Brazil and the Consulate General claimed that they will not comment and will wait for the end of the investigations. CNN tries to contact the diplomat’s defense, but, until the closing of this article, there was no response.
*With information from Pauline Almeida
Source: CNN Brasil
