The Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office on Friday filed an appeal against the decision to release Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, sentenced to four and a half years in prison, on bail of one million euros.
In February this year, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain footballer was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for raping a young girl in 2022. Dani Alves appealed this decision.
A Spanish court has acknowledged that Dani Alves can await an appeal against his rape conviction, subject to the payment of bail of one million euros, which has not yet been posted, a measure that comes with the confiscation of his Brazilian and Spanish passports.
Now the Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has announced an appeal against the decision to release Dani Alves, stressing that the reasons why preventive detention was issued in January 2023 remain.
“Especially taking into account the appeals filed by the prosecutor’s office and the private prosecution, as well as the criminal background that the accused faces – up to 12 years in prison,” he explains in his statement.
Therefore, he understands that the preventive measure should be extended to half the term provided for by the sentence, that is, to two years and three months.
“There is a high risk of flight which, in our view, cannot be mitigated by the alternative measures provided for in the appeal order, given Mr. Alves’ lack of roots in our country and existing roots in his country of origin. [Brasil] It is a country that does not extradite its citizens for crimes of sexual violence and, given its high economic potential, this means that the risk of flight is not reduced by paying bail,” insists the Barcelona provincial prosecutor’s office.
The footballer has not yet been able to pay the one million euro bail imposed on him last Wednesday by a Barcelona court in order to be released on bail, meaning he will have to remain in jail throughout the weekend.
Dani Alves, who played for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus among others, is accused of raping a young woman in a nightclub bathroom in December 2022, although the player, who has given several versions of what happened, has claimed that the relationship was by mutual agreement.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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