Dani Alves took advantage of the last turn of the floor in the hearing yesterday to assess the request for provisional release presented by his lawyer, to address the three judges and assure them that he will not escape. "I believe in justice. I will not run away and I will be available to the court until the end”.
The former FC Barcelona footballer, sentenced to four and a half years in prison for raping a 23-year-old young woman in the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona, witnessed the hearing via video conference from Brians 2 prison, where he has been held since who was arrested on January 20 last year.
The hearing was held behind closed doors and at the request of the defendant's lawyer, Inés Guardiola, who has insisted on the Brazilian's desire to remain in Spain while the appeals room of the Barcelona Court resolves the appeals presented by all parties. Guardiola insisted that the player has roots in Barcelona, where his wife, Joana Sanz, lives in a house in Esplugues.
In the hearing, which lasted just over 40 minutes, the parties presented their reasons for the defense's request. The prosecutor Elisabeth Jiménez and the private prosecution, represented by the lawyer Esther García, have opposed the measure, and both agreed to ensure that the risk of escape is now "greater" than when Alves was accused and the sentences requested by the accusations ranged from 9 to 12 years.
Guardiola, for his part, expressed in the room Alves' willingness to hand over his two passports, the Brazilian and the Spanish, and also the possibility of signing daily, if necessary in judicial offices. He also offered to deposit a good amount of money as bail, as a guarantee of his will not to run away.
In their sentence of February 22, the magistrates of section 21 of the Barcelona Court ordered the player to be kept in provisional prison, although they undertook to review his personal situation as soon as the defense presented the appeal. During the next few hours the judges will decide if he remains free.
The sentence against Alves has already been appealed and it is foreseeable that, whatever the outcome of the appeal, the case will be raised by one of the parties to the Supreme Court. So the final decision could still take a long time to come. While the appeals are resolved, Alves cannot enjoy the benefits that the prison regulations establish for prisoners serving a firm sentence. For example, that those who have served a quarter of their sentence can begin to enjoy exit permits, as long as their behavior is good and the technical reports are favorable. And this is precisely another of the arguments that his lawyer used in court yesterday. That you cannot harm a convicted prisoner who has only three months left to serve a quarter of his sentence and whose behavior in prison is exemplary.
