The Spanish judiciary on Wednesday released Brazilian player Dani Alves, sentenced to four and a half years in prison for rape, on bail of one million euros.
The decision came a day after Alves’ lawyer called for his release after serving a quarter of his sentence in February following his arrest in January 2023, and a Barcelona court announced it would confiscate the “passports of the Brazilian and Spanish player”.
The Spanish judiciary had sentenced the former Barcelona terrorist to four and a half years in prison for raping a young woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022, and the court indicated that there is evidence to support the victim’s claims and prove the rape.
The prosecutor, who testified behind a veil to protect her identity, said Alves violently forced her to have sex in the nightclub’s bathroom despite begging him to let her leave, causing her “pain and horror,” prosecutors said.
Alves denied the accusations against him and confirmed that the sexual relationship was consensual, telling the court after being asked by defense lawyers if he had forced her to have sex: “I’m not that kind of man, I’m not violent,” and continued: “If she wanted to leave, she could have left, and she was not obliged to be there.”
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