The Mossos are transferring Dani Alves from the Barcelona courts to Brian’s prison after he testified before the judge. JOSEP LAGO (AFP)
Dani Alves, accused of raping a 23-year-old girl at Barcelona’s Sutton nightclub,’s priority is to leave the prison where he spent ten nights as soon as possible and regain his freedom. His new lawyer, the criminal Cristóbal Martell, formalized this Monday before the Barcelona court the appeal against the provisional detention order issued by the judge last Friday, January 20th. The former FC Barcelona winger has since been behind bars for escaping. The defense strategy consists of convincing three judges of this higher instance that Alves has no intention of leaving Spain and that he will always be available to the judiciary until the hearing. The lawyer has requested that the provisional detention be replaced by other security measures that are less onerous for the footballer.
The judge investigating the alleged sexual assault that took place in the toilets of the nightclub’s VIP area at dawn on December 30 last year ordered Alves to be remanded in custody on one of the three grounds provided by law in Spain. : risk of flight. The resolution alleges that the soccer player may be tempted to flee because the penalties associated with the crime of rape are high (ranging from four to 12 years in prison) and because he has enough economic capacity to try. The judge of the Criminal Court No. 15 of Barcelona adds that he has no roots in Spain, as he is a member of the football club Pumas de México, who canceled his contract after his imprisonment became known, and that he has Brazilian nationality, a country there is no extradition treaty.
The warrant adds that the evidence is more than sufficient, that the victim’s testimony was strong and coherent, while Alves’s was confused and contradictory. The player changed his version up to three times, adding that none of these reports matched the evidence analyzed by the Mossos d’Esquadra: the nightclub’s surveillance cameras, the biological remains found in the victim’s body and the presence of up to seven Fingerprints in the sink.
Alves’ defense avoided submitting a request for reform to the judge who made this decision. Instead, he has opted for an appeal to a higher instance, the Barcelona Court, which must make a decision after hearing the parties to the case (the prosecutor and the victim’s lawyer). Wanting to distort the risk of absconding, the footballer has offered a number of alternative precautions as well as documentation proving he has a place in Barcelona to stay while the process goes on.