Germán Naranjo Maldini detained in São Paulo after insulting passengers and crew aboard Latam flight on May 10. Defense seeks psychiatric hospitalization instead of jail.
6:52 PM
Germán Naranjo Maldini, a Chilean businessman, faces up to five years in prison and fines following racial and homophobic insults directed at another passenger and crew members aboard a Latam flight in São Paulo, Brazil.
The incident occurred on May 10 aboard the aircraft. A video of the altercation circulated widely on Friday, May 15, showing Naranjo insulting another passenger after becoming involved in a dispute with flight crew. He was detained the same day the case became public and transferred to the Provisional Detention Center (CDP) in Guarulhos, where he remains.
Brazil's Constitution classifies racism as a crime not subject to bail and without statute of limitations, carrying sentences of imprisonment. Naranjo faces charges of racial injury, a crime for which stricter penalties were established in 2023. Authorities said he is also accused of xenophobia and homophobia.
Naranjo's legal team stated he was undergoing psychiatric treatment at the time and that the incident resulted from "a momentary loss of control." The defendant has said he does not remember the incident and expressed a desire to apologize to the Brazilian people.
On Tuesday, Naranjo's defense presented a motion to the Fourth Federal Court seeking to replace preventive detention with psychiatric hospitalization at a clinic pending trial. Legal experts cautioned that invoking mental illness as a defense could complicate his situation and potentially result in involuntary psychiatric internment rather than release.
Naranjo has been held for approximately one week as of Tuesday.
Germán Naranjo Maldini, a commercial manager at Landes, was arrested Friday after a May 10 incident aboard a Latam flight from São Paulo to Frankfurt.
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