Brazil method is tough but also impartial
FEW would wish on their worst enemy the treatment the Olympic Council of Ireland President received when he was arrested by Brazilian police. Filmed answering a hotel room door naked, the pale and clearly frightened 71-year-old cut a pathetic figure, and it was an image that offended the sensibilities of anyone who believes in the concept of innocent until proven guilty.
The Brazilian justice system is clearly a lot different to ours. Mr Hickey was taken into custody 10 days ago but has yet to be charged with a crime. He has been refused bail, even though he clearly poses no flight risk, given that police confiscated his passport and other identity papers.
Kevin Mallon, who also is accused of ticket touting and who was Mr Hickey’s cellmate at Bangu Prison, was yesterday granted bail after a ruling by the Supreme Court in Brasilia, and it would be strange indeed if Mr Hickey were not accorded the same facility.
The treatment of Mr Hickey is contrary to human rights legislation here, but it is still an important lesson we could learn from the Brazilians. They did not show Pat Hickey any special treatment, despite his high ranking in the International Olympic Committee. They appear not to be squeamish about offending a foreign country by arresting one of its most senior sports administrators, and it seems they have dealt with him just as they would deal with anyone suspected of a criminal offence.
Mr Hickey may indeed be innocent of what he is accused of, but at least the Brazilians have acted to combat what would here be seen as just another white-collar crime, something that appears to register very low on our list of priorities. As we know, only a handful of bankers have been charged and convicted of collusion to commit fraud, even though the consequences of their actions have placed a financial burden on the shoulders of two generations of Irish men, women and children.
The Brazilians have said they will cooperate fully with Judge Carroll Moran’s official inquiry into the ticket-touting scandal. This rather puts it up to us in Ireland to robustly investigate the affair, rather than delivering the usual tribunal-style slap on the wrist, with no criminal charges ever filed even against those explicitly identified as having behaved corruptly.
These have been a disastrous Olympics for Ireland, from the doping suspension of boxer Michael O’Reilly, to the tickets affair, suspicious judging in the boxing arena and now the reports that two Irish boxers were investigated for inappropriate betting activity during the Games.
If we are to salvage anything from the fallout, it must be to look to Brazil and learn to be as stringent as the authorities there are when they suspect anyone has committed a crime. No one, there or here, should be able to use an exalted position to avoid the full force of the law.