Spain: Dani Alves released from prison after paying one million euros bail

Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, sentenced in first instance in February for rape four and a half years in prison, was released on Monday from the Spanish prison where he had been detained for more than a year, after having discharged his sentence. payment of a deposit of one million euros.

It took five days for the ex-star of FC Barcelona, ​​Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain to raise this sum, since the principle of this release on bail in the awaiting his appeal trial was decided by the court last Wednesday.

With a closed face, dressed in jeans and a black coat, the player crossed on foot shortly before 4:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT) the gate of Brians 2 prison in San Esteban Sasroviras, 40 kilometers northwest of Barcelona (northeast of Spain), escorted at a distance by police officers, without saying a word or glancing at the numerous journalists present, noted two AFP journalists.

He then got into a car and left the prison parking lot accompanied by his lawyer Inés Guardiaola.

The Barcelona court accepted his surrender at liberty pending his appeal trial on payment of a bail of one million euros, as well as the withdrawal of his two Spanish and Brazilian passports and the ban on leaving Spain.< /p>

He is also prohibited from approaching within one kilometer of the victim's home or place of work and from coming into contact with her.

The player will have to report to the Barcelona court every Friday, specifies the judicial document consulted by AFP, which attests that the deposit was indeed posted on Monday morning.

– Degraded finances –

Persistent rumors had suggested that the father of another Brazilian football star, his former FC Barcelona teammate Neymar, might help him post bail.

But Neymar's father, 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”.

The financial situation of Dani Alves 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.

© AFP – Pau BARRENA

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 Barcelona nightclub.

Tried at first instance last month, he was given a sentence of four and a half years' imprisonment and therefore remained behind bars .

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, citing “justice for the rich”.

This decision was also criticized by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who considered that “the money that Daniel Alves has (…) cannot (could) redeem the offense of a man towards a woman whom he raped”.

To convince the court to accept this release, his lawyer Me Guardiola had argued that the former player had already served a quarter of the sentence handed down at first instance.

© POOL – Jordi BORRAS

This four and a half year prison sentence handed down on February 22 was much lower than the prosecution's requirements, which called for nine years in prison. The prosecution announced that it would appeal.

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 accusation. The player has appealed, but the date of his new trial is still unknown.

The “Seleçao” (the Brazilian national football team), which is currently in Madrid for a match Tuesday evening against “Roja”, had expressed Friday its solidarity “with the victims”, after having been criticized for its silence following the convictions for rape of Alves and another fallen glory of carioca football, Robinho.

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