Former Barcelona, Sevilla and Brazil defender Dani Alves has claimed that he will not flee the country if he is given bail while he awaits the result of his appeal against a rape conviction.
Alves was convicted of rape and given a four and a half year sentence in jail, has paid the victim €150k in damages, and will be on probation for nine years, and has a restraining order from the victim for 12 years. The initial sentence was reduced based on his payment of the damages, cited as a mitigating factor by the judge.
The public prosecutor, victim and the defence are all appealing the verdict. The former want the sentence increased to nine years, the victim’s personal defence want the sentence to be the maximum 12 years, and the defence want Alves cleared. On Tuesday a hearing took place as Alves applied for bail, which he was denied before the case took place, as per El Pais. He told the judge that “I believe in justice, and I will not run away” if he is given bail. Alves also cited a property in Barcelona he has, and said he would not leave the country.
Alves spent 13 months in custody as a flight risk before the trial, based on the fact his native Brazil does not have an extradition policy with Spain, meaning he could avoid justice potentially. The appeal could take some time though, and prisoners are not allowed to spend more than half of their sentence in preventative prison – the trial took 13 months – and Alves has already spent 14 months in prison. The maximum Alves could spend in prison before the appeal is settled is 27 months.
