HELSINKI: Six members of Cuba’s national volleyball team remained in custody over a suspected rape case in Finland, while two others have been released, local police said on Monday. “The police have six players under arrest at the moment. Two players … have been released and they are no longer suspected of this crime,” the Central Finland police department said in a statement.
Over the weekend the unnamed Cuban players had been brought in by police for questioning about the alleged rape at their hotel during the Volleyball World League event in the southern Finnish town of Tampere.
“The police will seek to have the six arrested players remanded and the hearing will take place at the Pirkanmaa district court tomorrow on July 5, 2016,” the police said. The remaining six players are still suspected of aggravated rape.
Police commissioner Joni Lansipuro told AFP the rest of the Cuban team, which was allowed to leave the country, did not know about the alleged incident at the hotel. “They went to bed normally, early like sportsmen usually do when they have a match the following day. They slept all night long and showed up at breakfast in the morning. They don’t have any information about these events,” Lansipuro said.
He said all suspects as well as the alleged victim were of age, but would not divulge their names nor their exact ages. The Cuban team, which lost its match against Finland on Saturday, was staying in Tampere at a centrally located hotel, which has a popular nightclub in its basement.
The team’s representatives did not show up at a press conference after their last match on Sunday against Portugal, which Cuba won. Local media tried to approach the players on Sunday before they left the country, but the team members refused to comment.