Dani Alves has paid €1m in bail to be released from prison while appealing a rape conviction, a Spanish court has said.
The former Barcelona footballer paid the £860,000 sum and handed over his Brazilian and Spanish passports after prosecutors had argued he was a flight risk.
Last month, Alves was found guilty of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
Alves denied wrongdoing during the trial, having said: “I am not that kind of man.”
The 40-year-old has 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.
Image: Dani Alves, seen here in 2013, was convicted of sexual assault in February. Pic: AP
He is forbidden from leaving Spain and not allowed to approach or communicate with the victim.
Alves was previously ordered to pay €150,000 (£128,000) to the victim by the court.
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In accordance with the bail agreement, Alves is required to come to the court every Friday, and any other time when ordered to do so. He also is required to provide a phone number so he can be contacted and located.
All of Alves’s previous requests had been denied because prosecutors deemed he would abscond, but judges decided the risk was lowered and granted him bail.
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Image: Dani Alves had to hand over his passports Pic: PA
But prosecutors asked the court on Friday to reconsider this decision 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.
Upon hearing the ex-right-back had been granted bail, Ester Garcia, the lawyer of Alves’s victim, told Spanish news outlet El mon a RAC1 last week she was “surprised and outraged” and would appeal the decision.
“It is a scandal that they let him go free… It seems that justice is being done for the rich.”
No date has been set for the appeals trial.
Alves’s lawyers are seeking his exoneration while prosecutors want his prison sentence increased to nine years. The victim’s lawyer is demanding 12 years.
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It comes after it emerged Barcelona republished a page about Alves on the “legends” section of their website.
Alves won dozens of titles with clubs including Barcelona and helped Brazil win two Copa Americas as well as an Olympic gold medal.
He played at his third World Cup, the only major title he has not won, in 2022.
He played for Barcelona from 2008-16, helping to win three Champions Leagues and six Spanish leagues, and briefly rejoined the club in 2022.
Source : Sky News
