Convicted soccer star Dani Alves allowed out of prison on €1 million bail
A Barcelona court also ordered him to surrender his passports and prohibited him from approaching the victim, a young woman he sexually assaulted in a nightclub in December 2022
Former FC Barcelona soccer star Dani Alves, who was sentenced last month to four and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman at an upscale nightclub in Barcelona in 2022, will be conditionally released if he posts bail of €1 million ($1.08 million). The Barcelona court in charge of the case has partially granted a request filed by Alves’ defense to release him pending the final decision on a conviction that is being appealed.
The Barcelona High Court, however, has imposed various conditions. Besides ordering him to post bail in order to leave the Brians 2 penitentiary in Barcelona — where he has already served 14 months including his pre-trial detention — judges have also told Alves to surrender both his passports (Spanish and Brazilian) and imposed a restraining order that prohibits him from coming within one kilometer (0.6 mile) of his victim or from having any communication with her. The former Barça player must also report weekly to the court. There was one dissenting vote in the three-judge panel that advocated for keeping Alves in preventive detention.
The decision comes just one day after a hearing in which Alves’ defense requested his conditional release on the grounds that he has already served a quarter of his sentence. “I believe in justice, I’m not going to run away,” said Alves. Prosecutors opposed the measure, arguing that the player has the financial means to flee the country. The defense argued that he has a domicile and roots in Barcelona.
The Alves case has gained added relevance in Spain as the first major criminal trial following the approval of a new sexual consent law in 2022 dubbed the “Only Yes Means Yes” law. The new legislation represents a change of paradigm in Spain, as the existence of a sex crime is defined by a woman’s explicit consent (or lack of it), and not so much by the victim’s attitude – whether she put up resistance or was passive.
Alves won numerous titles with elite clubs including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain. He also helped Brazil win two Copa Americas and an Olympic gold medal at age 38. He played at his third World Cup, the only major title he hasn’t won, in 2022. He played for Barcelona from 2008-16 and briefly rejoined the club in 2022.
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