Former defender of Barcelona, Seville and Brazil Dani Alves said he would not flee the country if he was released on bail pending the outcome of his appeal against a rape conviction.
Alves was convicted of rape and sentenced to four and a half years in prison, he paid the victim €150 thousand 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 on his payment of damages, cited as a mitigating factor by the judge.
The prosecutor, the victim and the defense are all appealing the verdict. The former want the sentence increased to nine years, the personal defense of the victim wants the sentence to be a maximum of 12 years, and the defense wants Alves to be released. Tuesday, a hearing was held since Alves requested bail, which was denied before the case was made, according to The country. He told the judge that “I believe in justice, and I will not run away” if given bail. Alves also mentioned a property in Barcelona he has, and he said he will not leave the country.
Alves spent 13 months in custody as a flight risk before trial, based on the fact that his native Brazil does not have an extradition policy with Spain, meaning he could potentially avoid justice. The appeal could take some time, and prisoners are not allowed to spend more than half of their sentence in pre-trial detention – 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 resolved is 27 months.
