(ATR) Gone, but not forgotten is the attitude towards Patrick Hickey during the Association of National Olympic Committees General Assembly.
If he were able to attend, Hickey would be present along with ANOC Executive Council members presiding over the General Assembly. Hickey has temporarily relinquished his Olympic family roles in the wake of his arrest in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympic Games. In ANOC he holds the position of first vice-president, and works closely with the world’s NOCs in his IOC membership role.
During the General Assembly both IOC President Thomas Bach and European Olympic Committees acting President Janez Kocijancic expressed support for Hickey from the Olympic family. Bach maintained the presumption of innocence for Hickey while urging the sporting world to familiarize themselves with different country’s laws and practices. Kocijancic asked for a "human approach" from Brazilian authorities while processing Hickey’s case.
Kocijancic told Around the Rings after his show of support that he tries to speak with Hickey regularly, and encourages him to stay positive. While the only person that can speak to Hickey’s emotional state in Rio is Hickey himself, Kocijancic believes that "[Hickey] is trying to be strong" but his current state "is rather weak."
Hickey was arrested during the Rio Games in connection to an illegal Olympic ticket selling scheme. According to Brazilian authorities the main actors in the scheme were executives from hospitality packager THG, who worked with Hickey to sell tickets allocated to the Olympic Council of Ireland at a markup. THG had been rejected as the authorized ticket reseller for the OCI, after suggestion from Rio 2016.
After his arrest, Hickey spent a night in a Rio hospital due to a cardiac episode. Afterwards he was transferred to Bangu prison before being released to await trial. As part of his release agreement Hickey must maintain an address in Rio de Janeiro and was forced to relinquish his passport to Brazilian authorities. The OCI has been renting an apartment for Hickey in Rio’s wealthy South Zone where he has stayed. Hickey is required to check in with a special Olympic court on the 20th day of every month. Currently, no date has been set for a trial.
A Brazilian prosecutor was supposed to decide whether or not to return Hickey’s passport on Oct. 31, but a backlog of cases has indefinitely halted the process. A spokesperson for the office of the state of prosecutor told ATR today that the office continues to wait for a decision to be taken.
"It is the problem of his health, he is not young, and on the other side to be [in Rio] for three months more or less alone, is terrible," Kocijancic said to ATR. "I think the system should be humanistic, start with the idea of human rights and dignity. My understanding is that [Hickey] didn’t get the treatment that a person of his size deserves."
Kocijancic said that the EOC is working to support Hickey in multiple ways, and that he is not the only colleague who maintains contact with Hickey.
Even with Hickey’s absence, the ANOC General Assembly must go on. The Olympic family says it will continue to find ways to help Hickey as he languishes in Brazil. The situation has not affected the family’s Brazilian members. ATR asked Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Nuzman if ANOC delegates discussed the case with him, or even spoke to him differently because of the incident. Nuzman scoffed at the suggestion, maintaining his distance from the affair and keeping his relationships intact.
Written by Aaron Bauer in Doha
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