(Barcelona) Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, sentenced for rape in February to four and a half years in prison, paid the bail of one million euros imposed by the courts on Monday and will be able to leave the prison where he has been held since more than a year, a Barcelona court announced.
The former star of FC Barcelona, Juventus and Paris SG took five days to collect this sum, since the principle of this release on bail had been decided by the court on Wednesday.
Many journalists have gathered in the rain since the beginning of the morning in front of Brians 2 prison, 40 kilometers northwest of Barcelona, awaiting his release from prison.
The Barcelona court accepted his release pending his appeal trial upon payment of a bail of one million euros, as well as the withdrawal of his two Spanish and Brazilian passports and the ban on leave Spain.
Insistent rumors had suggested that the father of another Brazilian football star, his former teammate Neymar, could help him pay the bail.
Degraded finances
But Neymar, who admitted in January to having paid 150,000 euros to help the former full-back pay his legal fees, assured Thursday that since Alves’ conviction, the situation was “different”.
Dani Alves’ financial situation has deteriorated considerably since his arrest, notably with the suspension of his contract with the Mexican club Pumas and the cessation of other sources of income, according to his defense.
He had been placed in pre-trial detention in this Brians 2 penitentiary center upon his arrest in January 2023, after being accused of the rape of a young woman on the night of December 30 to 31, 2022 in a nightclub in Barcelona.
Tried at first instance last month, he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and therefore remained behind bars.
In accepting his release last Wednesday, the court ruled that he would have to appear in court every week and respond to “all legal summons” between now and his new trial, the date of which is unknown.
He will also be prohibited from approaching within one kilometer of the victim’s home or place of work and from coming into contact with them.
The prosecution opposed this request for release, considering that the risk of flight was significant.
Criticisms of Lula
The victim’s lawyer, Me Ester García criticized the court’s decision, speaking of “justice for the rich”.
This decision was also criticized by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who declared that “the money that Daniel Alves has […] cannot atone for a man’s offense against a woman he has raped.
To convince the court of this release, his lawyer, Me Inés Guardiola argued that the former player had already served a quarter of the sentence handed down at first instance.
The sentence of four and a half years’ imprisonment handed down on February 22 was much lower than the prosecution’s demands, which called for nine years in prison. The prosecution announced that it would appeal so that the sentence could be increased.
The court also forced the player to pay 150,000 euros to his victim and imposed five years of supervised release on him after his release from prison, as well as a ban on approaching his victim for nine and a half years.
During his trial, Alves, aged 40, assured that the sexual relationship was consensual, but his defense had been weakened by his numerous changes of versions, pinned down by the prosecution.
At the time of his incarceration, the right-back was playing for the Mexican club Pumas, who dismissed him.
On Friday, the “Seleçao”, the Brazilian national football team, expressed its “solidarity with the victims”.