Daniel Alves case brought up Robinho’s conviction again

Convicted of raping an Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub in 2013, Robinho he lives as a recluse in a luxury condominium in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo. The former Santos and national team player was in Brazil when the sentence came out, making it impossible for the Italian courts to arrest him.

However, the commotion caused by the alleged sexual assault of Daniel Alves brought the case back to the fore and now the former attacker sees the request for his sentence to be served on Brazilian soil under the spotlight of public opinion.

This Thursday, the President of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Maria Thereza de Assis Moura, proceeded with the process of approval of the sentence and the possible execution of the sentence in Brazil imposed by the Italian Justice on Robinho. The player was ultimately convicted by the Milan Court on January 19, 2023. The following day, Daniel Alves was arrested in Spain for alleged sexual assault against a 23-year-old woman.

Robinho was playing for AC Milan when the rape took place. At the time of his conviction in the first instance, in November 2017, the player was at the end of his contract with Atlético-MG. Afterwards, he went to play in Turkish football, defending Sivasspor and Istanbul Basaksehir. In 2020, Santos announced his return, but criticism from fans and sponsors made the board give up hiring. Since then, the athlete has not entered the field.

The request for the extradition of the former Santos player by the Italian Justice took place in October last year, but was denied the following month. The Penal Code prohibits the extradition of Brazilians. For this reason, Robinho remains free so far, but Daniel Alves, arrested in Spain, where his sexual crime allegedly took place, is behind bars..

Daniel Alves was arrested after giving testimony in Spain, subject to the laws of the country. In addition, the right-back has dual nationality – Spanish and Brazilian. If convicted, the side can serve his sentence in the country, without the need to be extradited. Furthermore, Spain does not have an extradition agreement with Brazil.

According to Spanish legislation, an accused can be arrested before his trial in three situations: risk of fleeing, from the country or from any territory in which the accused can be tried; alteration of evidence; and victim protection. In the decision of Judge Maria Concepción Canton Martín, who decreed the player’s preventive detention, the risk of an escape was placed, since the athlete no longer lives in Spain and has the financial resources to leave the country at any time.

The same argument was cited so that the request for provisional release, for the player to respond to the charges in freedom, was denied. There is still no deadline for the trial of Daniel Alves, who is being held at the Brians 2 prison in Barcelona.

In the case of Robinho, the execution of a foreign sentence is provided for in the Federal Constitution. This is a common procedure. The STJ will be responsible for verifying formal aspects of the sentence, without re-examining the case itself. The body examines whether whoever issued the judgment in the country of origin was competent, whether the judgment became final, that is, there are no more appeals, and whether the documentation is translated by an oath translator into Portuguese and consularized.

The time for the outcome of this process also depends on the player’s defense challenge. Robinho, it should be remembered, continues to have the right to contradict and can challenge the decision at this stage of the case as well. When there is a dispute, this approval process can take up to two years.

DANIEL ALVES CASE

Daniel Alves had his arrest decreed on January 20. He was arrested while giving testimony about the case of sexual assault against a woman in the early hours of December 30. The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the preventive detention of the 39-year-old athlete, without the right to bail, and the holder of the Pre-trial Court 15 of Barcelona accepted the request, ordering the detention.

The accusation refers to an episode that allegedly took place at the Sutton nightclub, in Barcelona, ​​Spain. The athlete, who defended the Brazilian team at the World Cup in Qatar, allegedly locked, assaulted and raped the whistleblower in a bathroom in the VIP area of ​​the nightclub, according to the newspaper. El Periódico. She looked for her friends and security at the club after the incident.

The security team at the nightclub called the Catalan police (Mossos d’Esquadra), who took a statement from the victim. A camera worn on a police officer’s uniform accidentally recorded the victim’s first version of the case, corroborating what she said in the official statement. The woman also underwent a medical examination at a hospital. Daniel Alves left the scene before the police arrived.

According to the Spanish press, the contradiction in the right-back’s testimony was decisive for the country’s Public Ministry to ask for the arrest and the judge to accept. In early January, the player gave an interview to the program “Y Ahora Sonsoles“, from Antena 3, in which he confirmed that he was in the same nightclub as the woman who accuses him, but denied having touched the complainant without her consent and said that he did not even know her.

In the statement, however, according to the media in Spain, the athlete stated that he had been with the woman, but without sexual intercourse. He later admitted to having sex, but claimed the relationship was consensual. According to Cadena SER radio, images from the internal surveillance of the place confirm that Daniel Alves spent 15 minutes with the woman in the bathroom. Collected material found traces of semen both internally and on the whistleblower’s dress.

On February 14, the Court of Barcelona rejected the player’s request for provisional release citing the risk of fleeing to Brazil because of his economic capacity. Pumas, from Mexico, announced that Daniel Alves’ employment contract with the club was terminated for just cause.