The Prosecutor’s Office has requested to the Barcelona Court that the trial against the former FC Barcelona and Pumas UNAM player, Dani Alves, for sexual assault, be held entirely behind closed doors in order to preserve the privacy of the victim, a request to the that the defense and the private prosecution have joined.
As legal sources have informed EFE, the Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution have agreed to propose this exceptional measure, to which the defense does not oppose, to the 21st section of the Barcelona Court, which between Monday and Wednesday of the Next week he will judge Dani Alves, accused of raping a young woman at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona in December 2022.
In its request, the public ministry maintains that the trial behind closed doors is an “indispensable” measure to protect the victim’s right to privacy, as well as “respect” for it, which aims to avoid the “serious harm” that could cause a process in which the public and media are allowed entry.
The private prosecution has also raised similar arguments, while the defense, which has already requested the annulment of the process against Alves, citing the leaks to the press of the investigation of the case, has not opposed the request to preserve the process from exposure. media that he believes has contaminated him from the beginning.
Cases of closed-door trials are counted in the Barcelona Court, which only usually agrees to this exceptional measure – against the basic principle of publicity of trials – when the victims are minors or vulnerable.
In most cases, victims of crimes of sexual violence usually testify with special protection that prevents their visual confrontation with the accused – through a screen or from another room, connected by videoconference with the court – and occasionally judges may agree that the interrogation of the complainant be done behind closed doors.
In the Alves case, the publication of images of the victim a few weeks ago has increased the zeal of the accusations in their purpose of protecting the identity of the young woman, 23 years old.
The complainant’s lawyer, in fact, has filed a complaint with the Mossos d’Esquadra for the dissemination of a video published on Instagram by Lucía Alves, the footballer’s mother, which reveals the identity and personal data of the young woman, shows her enjoying moments of partying with her friends and hints that she is looking for fame and money.
As a result of that publication, the Prosecutor’s Office already announced that it would take the necessary measures to protect the image of the victim in the trial against Alves, who faces a sentence of nine years in prison and the payment of compensation of 150,000 euros.
