Facebook's vice president for Latin America was released Wednesday, a day after being arrested for refusing to hand over WhatsApp messages to the police investigating a drugs case. Judge Ruy Pinheiro, in Sergipe state, ruled overnight that the detention of Diego Dzodan in Sao Paulo on Tuesday had amounted to "unlawful coercion."
"It seems to me that the extreme measure of imprisonment was hurried," Pinheiro said. Dzodan walked free mid-morning, federal police in Sao Paulo said.
Facebook, which owns the popular WhatsApp mobile phone messaging tool, welcomed the release of its executive.
"Diego's detention was an extreme, disproportionate measure, and we are pleased to see the court in Sergipe issue an injunction ordering his release," a spokesman for the social media giant said in a statement.
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