Daniel Alves is formally indicted for rape by the justice of Spain; Defense will not appeal

The Brazilian will be submitted to trial, scheduled to take place in September this year. He faces charges of raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub and has been in pre-trial detention since January 20. The lawyer declared that he will not appeal, in order to speed up the process and bring the case to the judge more quickly.

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The formal indictment took place this Wednesday (02) - Foto Reproduction/Internet

The Spanish Justice formally indicted this Wednesday (02) the former player of Barcelona and the Brazilian National Team Daniel Alves, who is in preventive detention for more than six months. He is accused of committing the crime of sexual assault against a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022. The former side vehemently denies the accusation.

The magistrate in charge of the investigation claimed to have found evidence of irregularities by the player, who claims to have had a consensual sexual relationship with the woman who accuses him of rape.

Defense

After formalizing the accusation, the former Brazilian player becomes a defendant in the process and will be submitted to trial. He will remain detained in the Can Brians 2 prison, located about 40 kilometers from Barcelona. His lawyer, Cristóbal Martell, stated that will not appeal. According to the legislation, the defense has the right to appeal the conclusions of the investigations carried out by the Spanish Justice before bringing the cases to trial.

After the court hearing in Barcelona this Wednesday, in which the former athlete's formal accusation was communicated, Martell explained that the defense's strategy is to avoid presenting features to save time. The goal is to speed up the process so that the trial takes place as quickly as possible, initially scheduled for September this year.

"Dani Alves is upset with the narrative of the facts... he disagrees with it", said the athlete's lawyer, adding that "He is upset and does not agree with the conclusions, but he told the judge that he will not appeal due to his desire to speed up the judicial process ".

Case

The former player has been in prison since January 20 of this year., without the possibility of bail, on the allegation of flight risk. His arrest was requested after the discovery of his fingerprints and those of the woman accusing him, as well as biological tests that prove the correspondence of his DNA with the semen found in the young woman's genital region. Since then, he has changed his version of what happened on several occasions.

The first time he addressed the case, the former Brazilian player participated in a TV program in Spain and denied knowing the young woman and having had any intimate contact with her. However, in his second statement already in court, he admitted to having sex with the girl, but emphasized that it was consensual. In a second statement before the judge in charge of the case, the former player reiterated that he had consensual sexual intercourse with the young woman, clarifying that there was no penetration.

In April of this year, Alves changed his version of what happened for the third time, after the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, ​​a hospital specializing in sexual assault, presented evidence against him. He admitted that vaginal penetration had occurred in the alleged victim. At the time, the corpus delicti prepared and presented by the hospital through a statement, confirmed the occurrence of vaginal penetration, also certifying the existence of bruises, scratches and bites on the young woman's body. In addition, the victim showed signs of nervousness and anxiety after meeting Daniel Alves. The hospital reported that the victim was taking medication to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, as the act took place without a condom.

In the statement made to the judge in charge of the case, the former player claimed to have had sexual relations with the woman in question, contradicting his previous statement. He claimed that everything was consensual, contesting the accusations made by the Barcelona Public Prosecutor's Office. Daniel admitted to lying in court to hide the infidelity of his then wife, Spanish model Joanna Sanz, who filed for divorce after his arrest. The Brazilian player's testimony to the judge Anna Marín took place at his own request, and was formalized by his lawyer. According to Spanish law, an accused person can request this testimony as many times as he wants. In the most recent version, Alves admitted that penetration occurred, but reiterated that the relationship was consensual, which is denied by the alleged victim.

Possible conviction

In Spain, a report of rape is investigated as a charge of sexual assault, which can result in sentences ranging from four to 15 years in prison. If convicted, Alves will also have to pay 150,000 euros (approximately R$784,000) to cover possible damages and losses, an amount that will not be used to obtain his parole.