Latest news with #Alves'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
Spanish prosecutors said Wednesday they would a appeal a court ruling that overturned former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves' rape conviction, a verdict criticised by the government and women's groups. Alves, who won the Champions League three-times with Barcelona, was convicted last year of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona in 2022 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. But a Barcelona appeals court on Friday overturned the lower court's ruling, saying Alves' trial had inconsistencies and contradictions, and there was insufficient evidence to prove he was guilty. The appeals court said the accuser was an "unreliable complainant" since her testimony "differed notably" from evidence of video footage taken before she and Alves entered the bathroom where she alleges the player forced her to have sex without her consent. The public prosecutor's office in the northeastern region of Catalonia said in a statement it intends to lodge an appeal against the ruling, without giving further details. Hundreds of people rallied in Barcelona on Monday against the appeal court ruling, in a demonstration organised by feminist groups. Many carried signs calling the court decision "unacceptable" and calling for it to be revoked. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Saturday it was a "shame" that the testimony of a rape victim "is still being questioned" and that the "presumption of innocence is said to take precedence over the testimony of young, brave women". She apologised on Tuesday, saying she did not mean to call "into question the presumption of innocence" but reaffirmed her view that the appeals court decision to annul Alves' conviction is "a step backwards". Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a self-described feminist, has made the fight against sexual violence a priority. His minority government reformed the country's criminal code in 2022 to define all non-consensual sex as rape in response to the case of an 18-year-old woman who was gang raped by five men during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona. Alves, now 41, was kept in jail since his arrest in January 2023 until March 2024, when he was released pending his appeal after he posted the one million euros ($1.1million) bail set by the courts. rs/ds/nr
Local Spain
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Local Spain
Spanish court annuls ex-Barcelona star Dani Alves' rape conviction
Alves was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail in February last year for raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022. The 41-year-old, who won the Champions League three-times with Barcelona, was released from jail last March pending his appeal after he posted the €1 million ($1.1million) bail set by the court. The appeals court said its four judges had "unanimously" accepted the player's appeal and "annulled" his conviction. The court also rejected the appeal filed by public prosecutors, who were seeking a more severe jail term of nine years. Alves' trial contained "a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment, and its consequences," the court said in its ruling. During the trial, the victim, who testified behind a screen to protect her identity, said Alves had violently forced her to have sex despite begging him to let her go, causing her "anguish and terror", according to prosecutors present for her declaration. Alves initially claimed he never met the woman but later said they had consensual sex. His lawyers argued during the trial the victim had been "glued" to the player while dancing at the nightclub. Alves was a pivotal part of an all-conquering Barcelona team -- crowned La Liga champions six times -- and won 126 caps for Brazil, winning the Copa America twice. He also won European league titles with Italian giants Juventus and French outfit Paris Saint Germain. At the time of his arrest, he was contracted to Mexican club Pumas UNAM -- he was sacked soon afterwards.
Sky News
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Dani Alves cleared of rape by Spanish court after appealing conviction
Former Brazilian football player Dani Alves has had a rape conviction against him quashed upon appeal. The top court in Spain's Catalonia region said it overturned the original ruling in Alves' case saying it had presented "inconsistencies and contradictions". The former Barcelona player was found guilty of sexual assault in February last year and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He denied wrongdoing during the three-day trial. It was ruled that Alves raped the victim in a bathroom at an upscale Barcelona nightclub early on New Year's Eve in 2022. On Friday, the top court in Catalonia ruled that there was "insufficient evidence" to rule out Alves' presumption of innocence. In the judges' ruling, they wrote that the testimony of the victim "differed notably" from evidence of video footage taken before the woman and Alves entered the bathroom where she said he forced her to have sex without her consent. In March last year, Alves paid €1m (then £930,000) in bail to be released from prison while appealing the rape conviction. The former Barcelona footballer paid the sum and handed over his Brazilian and Spanish passports after prosecutors had argued he was a flight risk. Alves, now 41, had before that been kept in jail from January 2023 until March 2024. He may now leave the country as the appeal court lifted all travel restrictions. The decision can still be appealed before Spain's Supreme Court. The Alves trial was the first high-profile case since Spain overhauled its laws in 2022 to make consent central to defining a sex crime in response to an increase in protests after a gang-rape case during the San Fermin bull-running festival in Pamplona in 2016. The legislation popularly known as the "only yes means yes" law defines consent as an explicit expression of a person's will, making it clear that silence or passivity do not equal consent.
New York Times
28-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Dani Alves: Former Barcelona defender acquitted of sexual assault, prison sentence overturned after appeal
An appeals court has acquitted former Barcelona and Brazil full-back Dani Alves of sexual assault and overturned a four-and-half-year prison sentence. Alves, 41, was sentenced in February 2024 for an alleged sexual assault at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. He was released on bail in March 2024 while all sides awaited the outcome of all the appeals submitted against the initial ruling. Advertisement The High Court of Justice of Catalonia has allowed Alves' appeal after a panel of four judges deemed the initial conviction contained 'inaccuracies'. The appeals panel consisted of judges Maria Angels Vivas, Roser Bach, Maria Jesus Manzano and Manuel Alvarez, who reasoned the initial ruling contained 'a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment and its consequences'. The court dismissed two appeals from the prosecution; the public prosecution's office had sought the partial annulment of the sentence and an increased sentence of nine years, and a private prosecution had sought an increased sentence of 12 years. Alves had been released from prison in March after his defence deposited his €1million bail ($1.08m at current exchange rates). Bail had been set as a request from Alves' defence while all the sides waited on the appeals outcome. As part of his bail conditions, Alves was not permitted to leave the country and had to surrender his Spanish and Brazilian passports to Spanish authorities. Before being released on bail, he had spent the previous 14 months in the Brians 2 prison in Catalonia. Alves was arrested by local police in January 2023 as part of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault at a nightclub in Barcelona. The Spanish public prosecutor's office alleged that Alves sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman at the Sutton nightclub. He repeatedly denied the charges against him. (Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images)
Express Tribune
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Dani Alves wins appeal as Spanish Court overturns rape conviction
Former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves has won his appeal against a sexual assault conviction, as a Spanish court overturned the ruling on Friday, citing insufficient evidence. Alves, 40, was sentenced in February 2024 to four years and six months in prison after being found guilty of assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year's Eve in 2022. The former right-back denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial and was released on bail in March 2024 while awaiting his appeal. The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya (TSJC) ruled that the evidence presented was not enough to dismiss Alves' presumption of innocence. "The testimony of the victim is not sufficient to maintain the conviction of the accused, and in this case, the presumption of innocence prevails," the court stated. The ruling highlighted inconsistencies in the initial verdict, citing surveillance footage that showed a level of familiarity between Alves and the complainant before the alleged incident. The TSJC also noted that the Barcelona court, which initially convicted Alves, did not consider all available evidence and placed excessive weight on the complainant's testimony. The decision nullifies the previous ruling, dismisses the prosecution's appeal to increase Alves' sentence, and lifts all legal restrictions against him. Alves, a multiple-time La Liga and Champions League winner with Barcelona, also represented Brazil in three World Cups and won Copa América titles. His last club was Mexico's Pumas, who terminated his contract following his arrest. The case was the first high-profile trial under Spain's revised sexual assault laws, introduced in response to the 2016 Pamplona gang-rape case. The ruling has sparked debate over the interpretation of consent and the legal standards for sexual assault convictions.
