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Breno to stay in custody for time being

Bayern Munich's Brazilian defender Breno will remain in custody under suspicion of serious arson, following a fire which destroyed his luxury home, after a remand review on Thursday.

Breno to stay in custody for time being
Photo: DPA

“For the time being, the arrest warrant will remain in place,” a spokeswoman for the Munich prosecution service said.

State prosecutors are waiting to receive more information about the fire, which gutted the Brazilian’s house in the suburb of Grünewald on September 19, but his lawyer, Werner Leitner, has said he expects Breno to be released soon.

According to reports, prosecutors no longer feel there is a risk of Breno fleeing the country.

The 21-year-old Breno was arrested and taken into custody last Saturday on suspicion of causing the fire as authorities feared the defender might try to flee back to Brazil.

Before his arrest, the centre-back had sought psychiatric help at the renowned Max-Planck Psychiatry Institute and needs to have knee surgery once he is released.

Breno, who joined Bayern from Sao Paulo in 2008, had been briefly hospitalised for smoke inhalation after the blaze at his house, which is reported to have started in a guest room in the basement.

The property was completely gutted, but Breno’s wife Renata, their son and two children from Renata’s previous relationship were not at home at the time.

The cost of the damage ran to millions of euros.

German media had revealed that Breno – full name Vinicius Rodrigues Borges – had consulted a doctor at the Institute at his employers’ behest, which Bayern later confirmed.

According to press reports, the centre-back’s mental state could have been affected by the fact he is suffering from chronic knee pain that could threaten his career.

Breno has yet to make an appearance this season and has made just 21 league appearances in three seasons, after also spending six months on loan to Bundesliga side Nuremberg.

AFP/mdm

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POLITICS

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

German officials said on Thursday they had raided properties as part of a bribery probe into an MP, who media say is a far-right AfD lawmaker accused of spreading Russian propaganda.

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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