Spanish MP calls for maintenance of Daniel Alves’ preventive detention

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Spain asked for the maintenance of the preventive detention of Daniel Alves during the analysis of the appeal for the provisional freedom of the player, in a hearing held this Thursday (16), in the third section of the Court of Barcelona. The agency cited the multiple evidence that would incriminate the Brazilian, especially the DNA evidence. The information is from the Spanish newspaper The Vanguard.

Daniel Alves did not participate in the session, which was held behind closed doors and only had the lawyers of the parties involved. Now, the three magistrates of the court will consider the arguments presented and decide whether the player will be able to respond to the charges in freedom. According to The Vanguardthe result “should not come out immediately”.

The Brazilian player is imprisoned in the Brians 2 penitentiary center, in Barcelona. The defense filed an appeal at the end of January against the athlete’s preventive detention. In a 24-page document, lawyer Cristóbal Martell claims that there is no risk of fleeing Spain, suggesting the delivery of the passport and even the use of a “telematic bracelet”, similar to an electronic anklet.

On the other hand, Ester Garcia, who represents the complainant, asks that the athlete’s arrest be maintained until the end of the trial. For the lawyer, there is indeed the possibility of the player taking advantage of the exit to leave Spain. It is worth mentioning that Brazil does not extradite Brazilians, which could free the player from Spanish justice in case of flight to the country. She also claims that granting freedom to the player would be an “attack against the psychological integrity” of the alleged victim.

“Justice cannot allow him to be free while she is in prison,” Ester told reporters after the hearing. “We maintained the same position that we defended in writing two weeks ago. We understand that it is necessary to maintain the provisional arrest and without bail, not only because of the evidence of the crime, which there are, but because there is a high risk of flight.”

Last week, results from the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Barcelona showed that the remains of semen collected from the intravaginal samples of the 23-year-old woman who accuses Daniel Alves of sexual assault belong to the player, as well as those found on the floor of the bathroom of the nightclub where the two were for 15 minutes. The evidence contradicts the athlete’s version that there was only oral sex.

UNDERSTAND THE DANIEL ALVES CASE

Daniel Alves had his arrest decreed on January 20. He was detained while giving evidence in the case of sexual assault against a woman on 30 December. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Spain asked for the 39-year-old athlete’s preventive detention, without the right to bail, and the holder of the Investigative 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, 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 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. Pumas, from Mexico, announced that Daniel Alves’ employment contract with the club was terminated for just cause.