Dani Alves Released from Spanish Jail After Paying €1m Bail

After serving 14 months of a four-and-a-half-year sentence for rape, former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves has been granted provisional release on bail. Alves, a highly decorated footballer, was convicted last month for sexually assaulting a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022.

In a surprising development last week, a Barcelona court approved Alves' request for provisional release pending his appeal. However, certain conditions were imposed, including posting bail of €1 million, surrendering his Spanish and Brazilian passports, remaining in the country, and regularly appearing in court.

It took until Monday for Alves to provide the necessary funds, resulting in his continued imprisonment while his entourage raised the required amount.

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“We hereby inform you that the deposit of Daniel Alves’s bail has been registered in the accounts of the 21st section of the Barcelona court,” the court said in a statement on Monday.

Several hours later, Dani Alves was captured leaving Brians 2 prison, located northwest of Barcelona. Accompanied by his lawyer Inés Guardiola, he encountered a group of protesting prison workers demonstrating over their pay and working conditions.

Following his arrest in January 2023, Alves had been detained in jail until his recent release. Prior to his conviction, he had made multiple unsuccessful attempts to obtain bail. One factor contributing to the denial was the concern that he might attempt to flee, as Brazil does not extradite its citizens who have been sentenced abroad. The prosecution maintains that he still poses a flight risk.

The appeal process for Alves could extend over several months. Both the public prosecutors and the victim's lawyer, Ester Garcia, have challenged the decision to grant him bail.

"This sends the message that there is justice for the rich, and even if there is a conviction, if you pay bail there are no criminal consequences,” Garcia said last week. “This is a very dangerous message for society,” she added, saying her client was “very outraged, very despondent and very frustrated."

The decision of the court to grant bail to Dani Alves has faced criticism from Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He emphasized that money cannot erase the offense committed by a man when he commits rape. President Lula stated that consent is essential in any sexual encounter, and any violation of that consent constitutes a crime.

During the trial, the victim, who testified anonymously behind a protective screen, recounted how Alves forcibly engaged in sexual activity with her in a private bathroom of the nightclub despite her pleas for him to stop. Prosecutors argued that this caused her immense distress and fear.

Alves denied any wrongdoing, and his legal team claimed that the victim had willingly remained close to him while dancing at the nightclub, suggesting there was a mutual sexual attraction.

However, in its 61-page verdict, the court made it clear that the victim's proximity to Alves did not imply her consent to any subsequent actions.

In 2022, Spain introduced new legislation, commonly known as the "only yes means yes" law, which strengthened the penal code regarding rape by explicitly requiring explicit consent for sexual acts. This legislative change was a long-awaited demand by survivors of sexual assault and women's rights groups.

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