A Spanish court this Wednesday authorized the release from prison of Brazilian footballer Dani Alves in exchange for bail of €1 million (almost $1.1 million), while appeals against his rape conviction are resolved.
Alves will only be able to leave the Brians 2 prison (Barcelona), where he has been held for 14 months, if he pays a bail of one million. The magistrates also imposed a series of precautionary measures on him to prevent him from fleeing while waiting for the appeals filed by the parties (Prosecutor’s Office, prosecution and private and defense) against the sentence to be resolved.
In its order, the Barcelona Court agrees to the release of the 40-year-old player “by paying a bail of €1,000,000 euros”, after which his Spanish and Brazilian passports will be withdrawn and he must stay away from the victim of the rape, for which he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in a sentence that is being appealed.
In the event that he pays bail and is released, the magistrates order the withdrawal of Alves’s two passports (Spanish and Brazilian) and prohibit him from approaching less than a kilometer from the victim or communicating with her. The player must also appear, once a week, before the Barcelona Court. The decision contains the dissenting vote of one of the three magistrates, in favor of maintaining Alves’ preventive detention status.
The resolution comes just one day after the hearing was held in which Alves’ defense requested his provisional release on the grounds that he has already served a quarter of his sentence. “I believe in justice, I will not flee,” said the Brazilian full-back in his defense. The Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution opposed the measure with the argument that he has the financial means to escape. The defense argued, however, that he has domicile and roots in Barcelona.
In the resolution, the room prohibits the Brazilian from leaving the national territory and forces him to appear at the Provincial Court of Barcelona once a week.
Dani Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for raping a young woman in a nightclub in Barcelona and the Barcelona Court imposed a fine of 150,000 euros, supervised release for five years after leaving prison and a ban on approach the victim over a period of nine and a half years.
Dani Alves has been in the Brians 2 penitentiary center since January 20, 2023, so he has spent more than 420 days in prison.
