Dani Alves was sentenced to four years, six months in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub; 40-year-old was released from prison after paying €1m bail and handing over his passports while awaiting appeal against his conviction
Monday 25 March 2024 12:28, UK
Dani Alves has paid £860,000 in bail to be released from prison while appealing a rape conviction, a Spanish court said Monday.
Alves, who will have to hand over his passports, is expected to be released later on Monday.
Last month, Alves was found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He denied wrongdoing during the three-day trial.
The 40-year-old had spent the last 14 months in the Brians II prison located 45 minutes from Barcelona, since he was detained preventively by authorities investigating the rape accusation against him.
Last week, a court granted him the possibility to leave prison on bail after all of his other previous requests had been denied because he was deemed a flight risk.
The judges were split two to one on last week's decision, with those in favour of granting Alves bail saying they believed the flight risk had lowered.
Spain's state prosecutors' office in Barcelona asked a court to reconsider that decision on Friday, saying they believed the risk of Alves fleeing increased after he was found guilty. They wanted Alves to remain jailed while awaiting his appeal.
Prosecutors also reminded the court that Brazil does not extradite its citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.
No date has been set for the appeals trial at a higher court in Barcelona. After that, the case could go to the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid.
Alves' lawyers are seeking his acquittal while prosecutors want his prison sentence increased to nine years. The victim's lawyer wants him jailed for 12 years.
