2024-03-26 16:31:51
A Barcelona court announced, on Monday, that Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, who was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison for rape last February, has paid bail of one million euros (about one million and 81 thousand dollars) and will be able to leave prison.
The court said in a statement carried by Agence France-Presse: “We inform you that Daniel Alves’ bail deposit has been registered in the accounts of Section 21 of the Barcelona Court.”
The Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” reported on Sunday that Alves, who was convicted of sexual assault, was unable to pay the bail “because he is broke,” while his family, specifically his mother and brother, are struggling to obtain a loan to cover the bail amount.
The newspaper pointed out that the father of Brazilian national team captain Neymar Jr., who helped Alves pay compensation earlier this year, decided this time not to pay bail.
The decision came a day after Alves’s lawyer demanded his release, after he served a quarter of the sentence issued to him in February, after his arrest in January 2023.
A court in Barcelona announced that it would confiscate the passports of the player, who holds dual Brazilian and Spanish citizenship.
The former international was arrested early last year, after being accused of raping a young woman in the bathroom of a nightclub in late December.
The former Barcelona full-back was placed in prison since the start of his investigation, as the court refused to pursue him if he was released, claiming that it risked the possibility of him escaping if he was released from prison.
The Brazilian national football team broke its silence regarding the conviction cases of its former international players, Dani Alves and Robinho, and expressed its solidarity with the two victims, following the criticism directed at it.
When the story came to light and before he was arrested, Alves defended his innocence in a television interview, denying his knowledge of the woman, but when investigators interrogated him after his arrest, he changed his story and insisted that what happened was consensual, according to Agence France-Presse.
The court found that Alves had sexually assaulted the young woman, and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison, in addition to a fine of 150,000 euros.
The victim told prosecutors that she danced with Elvis and willingly entered the nightclub’s bathroom with him, but when she wanted to leave later, she was not allowed to do so.
Last updated: March 25, 2024 – 19:15
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2024-03-26 16:31:51