RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s ex-president and alleged head of a graft ring, Michel Temer, was freed from jail on Monday after a judge said there were no legal grounds for his detention.
Temer, accused of leading a sophisticated embezzlement and money laundering scheme, was the second ex-president of the Latin American country to be caught up in a sprawling anti-corruption probe called Car Wash that has claimed scores of political and corporate scalps.
The 78-year-old predecessor of the current far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was arrested Thursday in Sao Paulo and placed in "preventative detention" in Rio de Janeiro -- a decision overturned by judge Antonio Ivan Athie, citing the lack of legal justification.
Athie also ordered the immediate release of former mines and energy minister Moreira Franco and several others detained along with Temer. "I am not against the so-called Car Wash (investigation)," Athie said in his decision.
"I want to see our country free from the corruption that plagues it. However, without constitutional guarantees, guaranteed to all ... there is no legitimacy in the fight against this plague."
Despite evidence that could incriminate the accused, it "did not justify preventative detention", Athie said, pointing to the absence of proof that the accused were a threat to public order or would hide evidence. Hours after the ruling, Temer was freed and whisked away in a car. The federal prosecutor’s office said it would appeal the decision.