The trial of Dani Alves for rape, the countdown begins: what will be the only closed-door report of the trial

The countdown is over for the Brazilian footballer Daniele Alves be tried for the rape complaint that a young woman made to him after what happened in the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona. In this sense, the Court of the Catalan city He ruled out the trial taking place behind closed doorsexcept for the victim’s statement, though The diffusion of images or sounds of the conference will not be permitted..

In a statement, the 21st section of the Court rejected the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the private prosecution brought by the victim and Alves’ defense to close the trial, while guaranteeing measures aimed at protecting the identity of the complainant as much as possible. and avoid his visual confrontation with the accused starting next Monday, when the trial begins.

In that way, The media will be able to follow the trial via internal signal, without broadcasting images or soundsand the victim will declare protected from Alves’ vision by a screen, with the image pixelated and the voice distorted.

The only image of Alves sitting on the bench will be that of the first day, next Monday, February 5, when the press agencies, depending on the ‘pool’, will be able to take and disseminate photos and videos of the moments preceding the kick-off start. of the session.

The trial, in which Alves faces a tax demand for nine years’ imprisonment and payment of compensation of 150,000 euroswill last until Wednesday, with the appearance of about thirty witnesses.

The Court recalls that the publicity of judicial documents, with the exceptions provided, is a “constitutional requirement”, not so much in favor of the citizen’s right to information, “but as a guarantee to the citizen that the Courts will administer justice” and as a guarantee for the accused «who will not be tried in a clandestine or hidden way.

“The facts that will be processed in these proceedings have a clear media impact that arouses the interest of the media and the public, without this in itself constituting an obstacle to limiting the publicity of the hearing”observe the statement.

Another measure imposed by the Court is that during the trial all parties, as well as witnesses and experts, will have to refer to the victim as “the complainant” and not by her name or surname.

Furthermore, the disclosure or publication of information relating to the identity of the victim, data that could facilitate identification directly or indirectly, as well as the obtaining, disclosure or publication of images of the complainant or his family members are prohibited.

Just in recent weeks, the victim’s lawyer filed a complaint with the Mossos d’Esquadra for the dissemination of a video published on Instagram by Lucía Alves, the footballer’s mother, which revealed the identity and personal data of the young woman, who showed her enjoying party times with his friends and suggested he was looking for fame and money.

Following this publication, The Prosecutor’s Office has already announced that it will adopt the necessary measures to protect the image of the victim in the trial against Alves.