9 months ago
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CONVICTED rapist Dani Alves will spend the weekend in prison after he was unable to meet his €1m (£850,000) bail.
The disgraced ex-Barcelona star was gifted the chance to walk out of jail this week but constantly missed the courts deadline to fork out the cash despite his whopping £50million career earnings.
Reuters
AFP
RexAlves, 40, will remain behind bars in the Brians 2 prison until he can stump up the full payment.
The international footballer was accused of raping a woman in a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022.
He claimed the sexual encounter was consensual.
However Alves was found guilty of rape and sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars in February.
But on March 20, 2024 a court ruled he could appeal his conviction and get out of his hellhole jail while his team, headed by Ines Guardiola, carried out the appeal.
The footballer’s lawyers requested the disgraced full back was released as he had already served a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest in January 2023.
He has only served a month of his sentence so far.
Alves was first eligible to leave jail on Thursday but he missed the 2:30pm deadline set to pay bail.
The Barcelona court ordered the money to be deposited by Alves and his team the day before leaving in order for his release.
But the Brazilian was forced to stay an additional night in his holding cell despite defence sources saying he would likely be out today.
He then also missed Friday’s deadline despite it being extended for an extra hour by the courts.
This means Alves will be forced to stay in his prison cell until Monday at the earliest as the court is closed on weekends.
It is currently uncertain what stopped the money from being transferred.
WHY DIDN’T HE MAKE BAIL?
In order to be released from jail Alves had to meet his conditions for bail – the biggest being paying a £850,000 fee.
But his assets were frozen under a Brazilian court order related to his ex-wife, Dinorah Santana meaning he needed to borrow cash to get out.
Meaning despite analytics site Capology saying he has earnt a whopping £50m from being a top professional athlete he still needs help in getting out of jail.
The bail fee was thought to be getting paid for by pal Neymar Jr’s father, say LaVanguardia.
AFP
AP
AFPBut Neymar da Silva Santos Sr quickly shut down these claims by issuing a brutal 11-word statement after refusing to pay convicted rapist Dani Alves‘ £850,000 bail.
Neymar Sr killed rumours announcing in a family statement: “For us, for my family, this matter is over. Full stop.”
It continued: “With the Spanish court ruling for his conviction, there’s speculation and an attempt to associate my name and my son’s to a matter that is not within our reach any longer.”
Before adding that Neymar Sr hopes Alves “can find all the answers he looks for in his own family”.
Neymar Sr said in the statement that he happily supported Alves financially during the trial but after he was officially declared guilty the help instantly stopped.
He didn’t specify how much they gave Alves but called it a “different situation” now after the three judge panel at the Barcelona Provincial Court gave their damming verdict.
Sources say Santos Sr originally offered help to Alves after his assets were frozen.
It is believed that he also helped to pay the £130,000 compensation package to the 23-year-old victim ordered by the court.
The generosity from the Neymar family is thought to have come from the once budding friendship between Neymar Jr, 32, and Alves.
The other bail conditions say Alves must stay at least 1,000m away from the home of the victim or any other place she frequently goes.
He is also banned from ever contacting her and must handover his Brazilian and Spanish passports.
The court feared Alves could leave Spain and travel to his native Brazil to try and avoid serving anymore jail time.
WORLDWIDE REACTIONS
The decision to allow Alves to leave prison after making bail was made in court by the majority of those on the ruling panel.
Although not unanimous, Section 21 of the Barcelona Court set his bail to $1million (£850,000).
But many have been left questioning the choice and blasting the courts decision as ridiculous.
I’m very surprised and totally outraged because it’s like this is justice for the rich
Ester GarciaThe 23-year-old victim’s lawyer, Ester Garcia, described the decision to free him as “scandalous”.
She fumed on RAC1 radio saying: “I’m very surprised and totally outraged… because it’s like this is justice for the rich.”
Before adding: “It is scandalous that they can free a person who they know can get hold of a million euros in a heartbeat.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also condemned Alves’ release.
He said on Wednesday: “The money that Daniel Alves has, the money that someone can lend him, cannot buy the offence that a man does to a woman by committing rape.”
It comes as residents of Barcelona – where Alves was once seen as an icon – blasted the court’s ruling to free him on bail.
I think it’s shameful and they are showing once again that woman don’t matter, that our rights don’t matter
Barcelona ResidentOne woman said: “I think it’s shameful and they are showing once again that woman don’t matter, that our rights don’t matter.
“If you have money and you are a man, you can do whatever you want and you won’t have to pay.”
As a second angered local told AS TV: “Sentences must be served and executed equally.
“If you have a sentence then you have to fulfil it not just pay their way out of it because they have a lot of money.”
As a man also gave his view saying “evil” things can’t be forgotten about simply because of money.
Alves’ former wife Joana Sanz deactivated her Instagram account just hours after he was granted release on bail.
Despite filing for divorce in 2023 after the explosive accusations surfaced, Joana did back Alves in court claiming she was with him the night of the accusations.
It is currently uncertain what the pair’s status is after Joana accidentally shared a bizarre letter from her rapist ex where he declares his love for her from jail.
The court case
In a trial held in Barcelona in February 2024, Alves denied the allegations saying the sexual encounter had been completely consensual.
The three-day trial saw the victim, witnesses, and experts testify.
His accuser told the prosecution she had willingly entered the bathroom with him, but was then forced to stay after wanting to leave.
She told the court Alves allegedly slapped and insulted her before forcing her into having sex.
Alves did confirm he had sex with the woman in the nightclub’s toilet but insisted it was consensual.
Alves was found guilty of rape and sentenced to four-and-a-half years behind bars.
The court also ordered Alves to pay £130,000 (€150k) in compensation to the victim.
He also faced a nine-and-a-half-year restraining order from the accuser.
The court said in a statement: “The sentence considers that it has been proven that the victim did not consent and that there is evidence, in addition to the testimony of the plaintiff, to consider the rape proven.”
Following the sentence, Alves was sent to Brians 2 prison in Barcelona.
Despite filing for divorce in 2023 after the explosive accusations surfaced, Joana did back Alves when she took to the stand.
During her testimony on February 6, 2024, Joana claimed they were not legally divorced and that she had been with Alves on the night of the accusation.
Joana told the court Alves “smelled of alcohol” and “he bumped into several pieces of furniture and collapsed on the bed” after arriving home from the night out.
But she said she didn’t want to talk to him because of “the state he was in”.
A disgraced Alves publicly apologised to Joana during an interview from his prison cell in 2023.
He told Spanish reporter Mayka Navarro: “The only person I have to ask for forgiveness is my wife, Joana Sanz.
“I have already done that here in prison, but I have to do it publicly, because the story is public, the offence I caused her is public and she deserves that public apology.”
It comes as former Man City star Robinho, 40, is set to finally serve his nine-year jail sentence for a gang-rape committed in Italy, Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled.
Italy issued an international arrest warrant for Robinho, but the former Premier League star has dodged jail for seven years while living in Sao Paulo.
The former Santos star says he is innocent.
Neymar and Alves had been friends for yearsAP:Associated Press
Alves’ lawyers Ines Guardiola said her client has already served a quarter of his sentence in pre-trial detention after being arrested last January
Media waiting outside the prison for Alves’ release
Former Manchester City forward Robinho is finally set to serve his nine-year prison sentence for a gang-rape in Italy
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