Another setback for Dani Alves: the footballer accused of rape will continue to be detained in a Barcelona prison

the Brazilian footballer Daniele Alvesaccused of an alleged rape of a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub, he will continue to be held in custody as ruled by the Catalan judicial system on Tuesday, which rejected an appeal filed by the player’s defence.

“The Barcelona court has agreed to keep former Barcelona player Dani Alves in custody without bail, accused of raping a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub on the night of 30 December”published the Catalan newspaper Sports world.

The news indicates that the judges of the third section of the Court of Barcelona have “filed” in this way the Brazilian player’s appeal against the prison order of the investigating judge who “sent him to prison” on January 20 and who is serving time in the Brians prison 2, in ‘Sant Esteve Sesrovires’ (Barcelona).

The judicial decision comes just days after lawyers from both sides met with the three magistrates in charge of the case.

At the hearing, the defense and the prosecution presented the evidence on the appeal presented by the lawyer Cristóbal Martell, in charge of the defense of Dani Alves, a former player of the Brazilian national team and teammate of Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

Dani Alves’ appeal

In his appeal, Alves’ lawyers said the Brazilian had agreed to hand over his passport and to carry a monitoring device if released. Alves also offered to appear before the court and the authorities as many times as they requested, including every day, as well as to remain 500 meters (yards) from the complainant, her home or workplace.

However, the court concluded that these measures would not have been sufficient to prevent the footballer from attempting to escape, as he faces a sentence of several years in prison if convicted. He established it too there were considerable indications that a crime may have been committed and that Alves’ luck would have facilitated his escape regardless of the sum set as bail.

The court said that nothing would prevent Alves from leaving Spain without papers and arriving in his country, that he would not hand him over to Spain even if there were international arrest or extradition warrants.

Brazil does not extradite its citizens when they are convicted in other countries. Another former Brazilian footballer, Robinho, was sentenced to nine years in prison for raping a young woman in Italy, a sentence upheld last year by a leading Italian court, but he is still free in Brazil.

Alves, 39, can appeal again while the court decides whether to schedule a trial.

Under Spain’s law on sexual consent passed last year, sexual assault encompasses a wide range of crimes, from online abuse to groping or rape, with different penalties depending on the case. A violation can carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Alves won 42 titles in his career, including the Champions League three times with Barcelona and the Copa América twice with Brazil. Last year he played his third World Cup in Qatar.

Source: agencies