bail in sight for the footballer, convicted of rape – Liberation

The Barcelona court announced this Wednesday March 20 that the Brazilian star, sentenced on February 22 to four and a half years in prison, could be released pending his appeal trial, on bail of one million euros. .

“Justice for the rich.” The lawyer for Daniel Alves’ victim, Me Ester García, does not mince her words. And for good reason, the famous Brazilian footballer should no longer sleep very long in Catalan jails. Sentenced at first instance to four and a half years in prison for rape on February 22, after having spent more than a year in pre-trial detention, Dani Alves obtained this Wednesday, March 20 the green light from the Spanish courts for release . The continued pre-trial detention of the former defender, aged 40, pending his appeal trial, “can be avoided in exchange for the payment of a bail of one million euros”, announced in a press release from the Barcelona court, which specifies that in the event of release, justice would also confiscate the “two passports, Spanish and Brazilian” of the person concerned. The latter, in addition, is prohibited “from approaching the complainant at a distance of at least 1,000 meters from her home, her place of work and any other place frequented by the complainant, as well as to communicate with her by any means. “It is a scandal that we let a person go free when we know that he can raise a million euros in no time,” criticized Me Ester García this Wednesday.

Having played for Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus Turin, but above all for FC Barcelona where he played most of his career, Daniel Alves is among the most successful players in the history of football. He was arrested at the beginning of 2023, after a complaint from a young girl who accused him of having raped her in the toilets of a nightclub in the capital of Catalonia, on the night of 30 to December 31, 2022. At the time of the events, the Brazilian, at the end of his career, wore the colors of the Mexican club Pumas (which sacked him as soon as the affair was publicized). Back from the World Cup in Qatar, he spent a few days of vacation in Spain.

Significant risk of leakage, according to the prosecution

During the trial, at the beginning of February, the defendant rejected the complainant’s statements, assuring that the sexual relationship was consensual – during the procedure, he changed his version several times, going so far as to deny that sexual intercourse had taken place. . But the court found that “the victim did not consent and [qu’il] there is evidence which, beyond the testimony of the complainant, allows the rape to be considered proven. And to insist: “The court considers as proven the fact that the accused suddenly grabbed the complainant, threw her to the ground and penetrated her vaginally, preventing her from moving, while the complainant said no and she wanted to leave.” The prosecution had requested a sentence of nine years of incarceration.

During a brief closed session on Tuesday, March 19, the public prosecutor expressed his disagreement with the request for bail, considering that the risk of flight was significant. Daniel Alves’ lawyer, Me Inès Guardiola, argued that her client had already served a quarter of the sentence handed down against him in February and assured that he would not try to flee. The defense proposed the posting of a bond of 50,000 euros. The Brazilian, who appeared by videoconference from the Barcelona prison where he is detained, promised the judges that he would not flee if he won his case.

Update: addition at 1:15 p.m. of the reaction from the player’s victim’s lawyer.