Dani Alves has appeared publicly for the first time in the last year since he was imprisoned to sit in the dock. This Monday, the trial against the former soccer player began in the Barcelona Court for an alleged crime of sexual assault of a 23-year-old girl in a private bathroom at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona that occurred on December 30, 2022. Despite the fact that months Back, the defense and accusations explored an agreement in which Alves accepted a lower prison sentence in exchange for paying high compensation to the victim. Finally, the agreement did not come to fruition nor was there an in extremis agreement that prevented the trial from taking place. The oral hearing began when a few minutes passed ten o’clock and it did so with the previous questions in which each party exposed alleged violations of rights and put new evidence on the table.
The court has accepted the request made by Alves’ defense, led by lawyer Inés Guardiola, for the footballer to testify at the end of the trial, contrary to what was initially planned. The court considers that the final appearance of Alves “contributes to the clarification of the facts” since “there is evidence that exceeds what was in the investigation and for which the accused does not have to have detailed knowledge.”
Dani Alves’ defense has made a vehement statement in which he has complained that his client will not have a fair trial because he has been the victim of a parallel trial. “There is a constant trickle of information presenting Dani Alves as a sexual aggressor, generating “the social conviction that he is guilty,” his lawyer reproached him while adding that “the investigating judge has been contaminated by the media.” and this must lead to the annulment and the release of Alves.” The lawyer refers to an order in which the judge not only referred to the three versions that the footballer gave in his statement but to a fourth that he provided to Antena. 3, before appearing before the judge.
The Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution, which represents the victim, have taken advantage of the media interest aroused by the matter to denounce that the damage has been suffered by the victim. “The victim’s attitude has been criticized and her image has even been leaked,” said prosecutor Elisabet Giménez, alluding to the video posted on Instagram by Alves’ mother in which the victim was identified.
“An investigation was ordered behind his back” in which “he had no possibility of defending himself,” Alves’ lawyer continued, recalling that an investigation was initiated without a known author when Dani Alves had already been identified from minute one. This prevented him from taking an alcohol test on the same day of the incident, Guardiola said. The lawyer added a new assumption in her last writing in which she left the door open to Alves being drunk and this could serve as a mitigating factor in the event of a possible conviction.
Alves’ defense has also demanded that the victim’s statement not be made behind closed doors and with a distorted voice because “no party requested it” and it could violate her right to defense. The court has rejected this request and recalled that the accusations requested that the entire trial be held behind closed doors. “If more has been requested, less has been requested. The right of defense has been kept in mind, to combine protection measures for the victim and the right of defense,” he argued.
