Former Barcelona, Sevilla and Brazil defender Dani Alves has permission to leave prison after spending 14 months in custody, if he provides the Spanish courts with a €1m bail fee.
As per Diario AS, Alves will be granted bail in exchange for the hefty fee. Alves was found guilty of rape last month and sentenced to four and a half years in jail, as well as paying €150k in damages. The victim, prosecution and defence have all appealed the decision, the former two seeking longer sentences and the latter seeking acquittal.
Alves will be allowed to leave jail under a series of conditions though as he awaits the result of his appeal. He will have both of his passports taken from him, is now allowed to come within 1,000m of the victim or any of the places they frequent, and he will also have to attend a weekly meeting with the legal authorities, as well as attending all of their calls. Originally he was kept in custody awaiting the trial as he was deemed a flight risk.
Should he try to flee or break these conditions, he will be returned to prison. The initial case took 13 months to reach trial, hence it could mean a significant time out of prison for Alves. Brazil do not have an extradition policy with Spain, thus the defence had feared he could escape justice by returning to his homeland. During a hearing yesterday, Alves told the court that he would remain in Spain, where he has a property in Barcelona.
