Athlete ‘kidnapped’ by Rio police flees Brazil
Says he was forced to hand over cash
New Zealand athlete Jason Lee and journalist Laura McQuillan, his partner, arrived in Toronto Thursday, fleeing Rio de Janeiro after a third run- in with Brazilian military police, the New Zealand magazine Stuff reported.
Lee and McQuillan’s departure from Rio happened just days after the athlete said he was “kidnapped” by two military police officers, placed in an unmarked car and taken to several ATMs and forced to withdraw a total of 2,000 Brazilian real ($800).
After reporting the incident to the civil police, two military police officers visited the couple in their home. A second visit, this time at midnight, prompted the decision to leave Rio.
“After the first visit from the police, we immediately began to talk about whether leaving was the best option. Once we had the second visit there was no other course of action,” Lee told Stuff, which McQuillan writes for.
Both Lee and McQuillan see the visits as attempts at intimidation.
Despite being assured otherwise, the couple suspects that information had been passed from the civil police to the military police, who warned Lee against reporting the initial incident.
“The second time they arrived, in the middle of the night, they had a document that confirmed our fears that information had been passed from the civil police to the military police.” Lee said. “It basically confirmed our address had been passed on.”
“There was no contact with us prior to their arrival,” said McQuillan, “Or to the civil police, or the New Zealand embassy. It was totally out of the blue.”
Fearing the worst, the couple stayed in their apart- ment before flying out, their nerves f raying. McQuillan said the ordeal has left her with “constant anxiety” about Lee.
“What if there were police waiting outside our house to have him shot down or whatever?” she asked.
Since Lee’s initial tweet saying he was kidnapped, the couple posted regular updates on Twitter as the saga unfolded. Lee and McQuillan said their social media accounts have been inundated with supportive messages, many from Brazilians jaded by corruption praising them for reporting the incident.
“For Brazilians this is no surprise — they deal with corrupt cops all the time,” said McQuillan.
“They told us they would never report it out of fear. They don’t have the protection of the NZ embassy, the support of another police agency — they don’t make headlines.”
Two military police officers have since been taken into custody. Lee declined an invitation to testify at a military police tribunal. Brazilian authorities say he may still testify via video.
Lee, a national jiu- jitsu champion, had been living in Rio with McQuillan for approximately a year, and is not part of New Zealand’s Olympic delegation ( jiu-jitsu isn’t an Olympic sport). Despite the ordeal, the couple has mixed feelings about leaving Brazil.
“Before this incident,” said Lee, “I would have happily said the gym there in Rio was my second home. I’m leaving behind many friends.”
“I’m completely gutted,” said McQuillan. “The point of going was twofold — Jay doing jiu-jitsu, me covering the Olympics. I haven’t covered the Olympics before, so I’ ll have to wait to tick that off my bucket list.”
In the wake of the incident, China has issued a travel warning to Chinese citizens visiting Rio.
BRAZILIANS ... DEAL WITH CORRUPT COPS ALL THE TIME.