Ex-Brazil Player Alves To Be Released On €1m Bail
A Spanish court has ruled that ex-Barcelona and Brazil footballer Dani Alves can be conditionally released from jail after serving about a quarter of his sentence for rape.
Dani Alves was first arrested in January 2023 and has been detained since.
Alves, who was sentenced to four and a half years in prison last month, will be released on a €1m (£853,000) bail.
He had been held in pre-trial detention since January 2023.
The 40-year-old was found guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.
The victim’s lawyer called the decision “a scandal”.
The conditions for his release include turning over both his Brazilian and Spanish passports so he cannot leave Spain.
He must also appear before the court on a weekly basis.
The court additionally imposed a restraining order, preventing him from approaching the victim.
The ruling came a day after Alves’ lawyer requested his release on the grounds that he had already served a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest.
The victim’s lawyer, Ester Garcia, said: “To me, it’s a scandal that they let a person who they know can get a million euros in no time walk free.”
Alves had maintained she could have left “if she wanted to”. However, the court found that she did not consent.
In a statement, the court said there was evidence other than the victim’s testimony that proved that she had been raped.
It said Alves had “abruptly grabbed the complainant” and thrown her to the ground. He had then raped her while preventing her from moving as “the complainant said no and wanted to leave”, it added.
The woman said the rape had caused her “anguish and terror”, and one of her friends who was with her on the night described how the 23-year-old had cried “uncontrollably” after leaving the bathroom.
Alves played more than 400 times for Barcelona, winning six league titles and three Champions Leagues across two spells with the club. He was also part of Brazil’s 2022 World Cup squad.
He has won trophies playing for Sevilla, Juventus and PSG and is among Brazil’s most capped internationals, with 126 appearances.
BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma
