The Catalonia region’s top court has overturned a rape conviction against former Brazilian football star Dani Alves, citing inconsistencies in the case. The ex-Barcelona player had been sentenced to four years and six months in prison following a guilty verdict in February last year. Alves consistently denied any wrongdoing during the trial.
The allegations stemmed from an incident at a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022. Alves was accused of assaulting a woman in a bathroom. However, the court stated that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction. Judges pointed out notable discrepancies between the victim’s testimony and video footage from the venue.
In their decision, the judges emphasized the principle of presumption of innocence, noting that the presented evidence did not adequately prove the claims. They highlighted that the testimony lacked consistency with the footage captured prior to the alleged assault.
In March 2024, Alves had already posted bail of €1 million to secure his release from jail while appealing the conviction. During this time, he surrendered his Brazilian and Spanish passports as part of the bail conditions, with prosecutors arguing he posed a flight risk.
Alves, who was held in custody from January 2023 to March 2024, now faces lifted travel restrictions, granting him the freedom to leave Spain. The case, however, may still face further legal examination if prosecutors choose to appeal the decision to Spain’s Supreme Court.
This trial marks a significant moment in Spanish legal history, being one of the first major cases since the country reformed its sexual assault laws in 2022. The reforms, referred to as the “only yes means yes” law, define consent as an explicit affirmation of a person’s will. The legislation was enacted following widespread protests after the gang-rape case during the San Fermin festival in 2016.
The court’s ruling in the Alves case has sparked conversations about the complexities of evidence evaluation under these new legal standards. Legal experts argue that the verdict demonstrates the challenges of implementing recent legislative changes effectively.
