Chief of European IOC arrested in Rio over ticket scandalAugust 17, 2016 - 17:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Brazilian police on Wednesday, August 17 arrested top International Olympic Committee member Patrick Hickey over illegal sales of Rio Olympics tickets, AFP reports. Police said in a statement that Hickey, the 71-year-old head of the European Olympic Committees as well as the Irish national committee, was detained at a luxury Rio hotel. According to Brazilian media, Hickey tried to escape during the operation. The reports said he fell ill during his arrest and was taken to hospital. City police acted to "carry out an arrest warrant and search warrant against Patrick Joseph Hickey, from Ireland, a member of the International Olympic Committee," police said in a statement. "He was arrested," a spokesman confirmed. Hickey has been a member of the IOC executive board since 2012. As head of the European body he has been instrumental in setting up the European Games which was first held in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year. The arrest -- with echoes of a police raid on a FIFA hotel in Zurich last year in which seven officials were held on corruption charges -- will come as a blow to the IOC which has made anti-corruption efforts a priority since a bribery scandal around the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, AFP says. Six IOC members were expelled after the scandal. An IOC spokeswoman said: "We are still in the process of establishing the facts" and made no further comment. The Olympic Committee of Ireland would only say that it was "seeking total clarity on the situation before we comment further." Photo. AFP Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |