- A Brazilian judge has ordered that German Consul Uwe Herbert Hahn be held in custody.
- Hahn is accused of murdering his husband, Walter Henri Maximilien Biot.
- The couple’s 52-year-old husband was found dead in an apartment in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian judge has ordered that German Consul Uwe Herbert Hahn be held in custody in connection with the alleged murder of his husband in Rio de Janeiro, rejecting defence claims of diplomatic immunity, According to Brazilian media.
Rio police first arrested Hahn on Saturday after his husband, Walter Henri Maximilien Biot, 52, was discovered dead in an apartment in the Ipanema neighbourhood, according to police. On Sunday, video showed Hahn being escorted by Brazilian police outside a police station in Rio.
Among the factors that influenced Brazilian judge Rafael de Almeida Rezende’s decision to keep the diplomat in custody were alleged attempts to tamper with evidence.
“the apartment was cleaned before the forensics team carried out its examination, a fact that by itself demonstrates that the release of the suspect in custody could lead to serious encumbrances to the collection of evidence.”
The judge’s order describes the crime scene and states “several lesions on the victim’s body originating from blunt-force trauma, with one of the [lesions] compatible with a foot stomp and the other with the deployment of a cylindrical instrument (supposedly a wooden club).”
The judge’s ruling also said that forensics “detected blood splatter on the property, markedly in the couple’s bedroom and in the bathroom, compatible with the dynamics of a violent death.”
According to Brazilian media, Hahn’s defence argued to the court that the diplomat is entitled to diplomatic immunity and a writ of habeas corpus.
Habeas corpus is a legal principle that allows people who believe they are being held unlawfully in prison or detention to challenge their detention, and successful challenges can result in the release of a detainee.
The judge, however, ruled that “arrest for an intentional crime against life committed inside the couple’s apartment (and thus outside of the consular environment) has no relation whatsoever to consular duties.”
According to German Foreign Office sources, the “arrest of an employee posted to the Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro.”
“Our Embassy in Brasilia and the Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro are in close contact with the Brazilian authorities investigating this case,” According to foreign office sources, additional information could not be disclosed due to ongoing investigations and personal privacy concerns.
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