Judge denies request to release alleged Irish Olympic ticket tout

A federal appeals court judge in Brazil has rejected a request that an Irish man accused of ticket touting at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro be released from prison.

In a ruling published in the capital Brasília on Monday, superior court of justice judge Ribeiro Dantas refused lawyers representing Kevin Mallon a writ of habeas corpus.

His lawyers have argued that there is no evidence their client was selling tickets above face value and that his detention before a formal charge is made was excessive given ticket touting is a minor offence in Brazil which rarely results in a custodial sentence.

Mr Mallon’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment after the decision was announced on the court’s website. The site listed a new petition entered by him five minutes after habeas corpus was denied.

The Dublin finance director of British sports management company THG, Mr Mallon has been held in Rio’s Bangu prison since his detention on August 5th in an operation during which police also seized several hundred Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) tickets for the Games.