Barcelona, Spain – Former Barcelona player Danny Alves won his appeal against the condemnation of sexual assault, as a Spanish court canceled the ruling.
Alves in February 2024 were convicted of raping a woman in a nightclub in December 2022 and sentenced to four years in prison. The former Brazilian and Barcelona defenders denied that violations of the three -day trial.
On Friday, this court ruled that there is “insufficient evidence” to exclude Alves's assumption of innocence.
“Danny Alves is innocent, and this has been proven,” defense lawyer Ins Guardiola told Radio Catalan Radio Radio Radio Radio Catalani. “Justice has finally been offered.”
The trial of Alves was the first high -level case since Spain reformed its laws in 2022 to make approval central in determining a sexual crime in response to a set of protests after the case of rape of a gang during the Saint Fermin Thurlow Festival in Bamblona in 2016.
The popular legislation defines the law “Yes only yes” approval as an explicit expression of the person's will, which shows that silence or negativity is not equal to approval.
However, the four judges in the Barcelona appeal court, their headquarters, were unanimously eliminated by canceling the conviction after reviewing the evidence and certificates submitted to the minimum court. In their decision, they wrote that the prosecutor's testimony “disagreed significantly” from evidence of the video clips that were taken in front of the woman and Elvis entered the bathroom as she said that he forced her to have sex without her consent.
Before the trial of last year, the alleged victim told the prosecutors that she danced with Alves in a nightclub and entered the bathroom good, but that later when she wanted to leave, she would not be allowed to do so. She said that he slapped her, insulted her and forced her to have sex against her will.
Alves denied these three -day trial.
“She never told me to stop. We used to enjoy ourselves,” Alves said. He also denied slapping or insulting her.
Alves, 41, was kept in prison from January 20, 2023 to March 2024 until he was released after he paid a million euros (then $ 1.2 million) to guarantee while waiting for his appeal. He also delivered his passports, as the prosecutors argued against his launch on bail due to the potential flight risk.
Prosecutors wanted to increase the prison sentence to nine years, while the victim's lawyer wanted to remain behind the bars for 12 years.
This decision can be appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court in Madrid.
Alves was one of the most successful players in his generation and won dozens of titles with elite clubs including Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint -Germain. Brazil also helped win two American Cups and an Olympic gold medal at the age of 38. He played in the third World Cup, the only main title that he did not win, in 2022. He played with Barcelona from 2008-16, helping the team win three championships and six Spanish championships, and returned a long time in the club in 2022.
He was with the Mexican club Pomas when he was arrested. Pomas finished his contract immediately.
