A Spanish court has ruled that Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves can be released from custody pending the appeal of his rape conviction, provided he pays a bail of one million euros ($1.1 million) and surrenders his passports. The decision was made on Wednesday.
Alves was convicted of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He has been in custody since his arrest in January 2023. Previous requests for bail were denied due to concerns about him fleeing the country, but Brazil does not extradite its citizens who are convicted abroad.
Alves must surrender his Brazilian and Spanish passports, remain in the country, stay away from the victim, and refrain from contacting her. The court’s decision followed a hearing where Alves assured via video conference from prison that he had no plans to leave the country, as reported by his lawyer, Inés Guardiola.
Both Guardiola and the state prosecutor have appealed the conviction, with the defense seeking acquittal and the prosecution pushing for an increase in his sentence to nine years. A date for the appeal trial in a higher court in Barcelona has not been set, with the possibility of further appeals to the Supreme Court in Madrid.
As part of his conviction, Alves was ordered to pay 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation to the victim, barred from approaching her home or workplace, and prohibited from communicating with her for nine years.
Alves was playing for Mexican club Pumas when he was arrested, and his contract was terminated immediately. With a decorated career, including multiple titles with Barcelona and international successes with Brazil, Alves remains held at Brians 2 prison, about 45 minutes northwest of Barcelona.
