Mr. Hickey, 71, is suspected of illegally passing on tickets for the Games to be sold on at extortionate prices, Brazilian media report. Mr. Hickey, said to be unwell after his arrest, has not yet commented publicly. Police say the suspect, who also heads the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI), tried to escape when they came for him. They say he slid his Olympic pass under the door when police came knocking and fled into the adjacent hotel room, where his son had been staying until recently. After he was arrested he was taken ill and received medical attention, reports say. Brazilian media believe Mr Hickey's arrest is related to that of fellow Irishman Kevin James Mallon on the day of the Olympic opening ceremony. Mr Mallon is the director of THG Sports, a sports hospitality company alleged to have resold tickets for Rio 2016 illegally. When Mr Mallon was arrested on 5 August, he was found to be in possession of more than 800 top-class tickets for the Police suspect they were to be sold at prices of up to £6,000 ($7,800) each. THG said Mr Mallon had not sold or sought to sell tickets but had been holding them for collection by clients of the Irish authorised ticket reseller, Pro 10 Management. The OCI said it would launch an inquiry into the ticket sale controversy but has been criticised for rejecting a call by the Irish Sports Minister to bring in independent investigators. Last week, the OCI wrote on its website there was "absolutely no suggestion of misconduct or impropriety" by the OCI or any of its staff. Mr Hickey was elected head of the European Olympic Committees in 2006 and has been in charge of the Olympic Council of Ireland since 1989. He has also been on the IOC executive board since 2012.
The President of the European Olympic Committee and the National Olympic Committee, Patrick Hickey of Ireland is a great friend of the Azerbaijani authorities, and was awarded a government award for organizing the first European Games in Baku in 2015.
It is possible that after the arrest of Hickey will be opened the facts of thefts in Baku, as well as partners of Hickey among the senior officials of Azerbaijan. -02D-
Politics
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On the evening of July 24, the Sabail District Court ruled against the Talysh researcher Igbala Abilov was given a preventive measure in the form of arrest for a period of 4 months.
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Today, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Yakov Blitzstein. The parties discussed various aspects of bilateral relations including in the fields of economy, security, high technology, education, tourism, energy, transport, etc., the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry There was also a broad discussion of the current situation and prospects for cooperation in these areas, as well as the situation in the Gaza Strip.
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The nomination of Elton Mammadov as a candidate for deputy was canceled due to the identification of falsifications in his documents, a member of this structure, Gabil Orujev announced at today's meeting of the CEC. The reason for the proceedings in the Mammadov case was the appeal of a group of voters from the 94th Ujar electoral district, from where E. Mammadov ran. During the inspection, it was revealed that E.Mammadov did not specify apartments with a large area in Baku, non-residential premises in the property declaration. Mammadov's concealment of income as an entrepreneur was also established.
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Former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov was charged under Articles 126.2.4 (intentional infliction of serious harm to health from hooligan motives) and 221 (hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. According to these Articles, he faces up to 11 years in prison, his lawyer Agyl Laidj wrote on Facebook.
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