what are the next steps and what can happen

Judge Maria Concepción Canton Martín, from the Pre-trial Court 15 of Barcelona, ​​accepted the request of the Public Ministry of the country and decreed this Friday (20), the preventive detention of Daniel Alves, without bail, for sexual assault. The player was detained by the police when he gave testimony voluntarily.

The investigation stems from a complaint filed by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Daniel Alves at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona, ​​where both were at a party on the night of December 29 to 30 of last year. Daniel Alves was arrested this Friday morning after giving a statement to the police and later had preventive detention decreed. He denies the accusations.

The criminal procedure in Brazil and Spain are different. In the European country, the investigative procedure takes place before an investigating judge, who analyzes the complaint presented by the MP to open or not an investigation.

It was the Court of Instruction 15 of Barcelona that accepted the complaint of the MP of Spain and ordered the preventive arrest and without bail of the athlete. He is charged with “the offense of sexual assault”. But what are the next steps in the case involving the Brazilian athlete, with history in Barcelona, ​​São Paulo and the Brazilian national team?

“Spain’s Public Prosecutor’s Office should speak out on the validity and necessity of this arrest. Daniel Alves’ defense will probably ask for a habeas corpus and require different, milder precautionary measures”, explains lawyer Mayra Cardozo, a specialist in human and criminal rights .

The player’s lawyers will appeal the decision in a higher court of Spanish Justice, as elucidated by lawyer Haroldo Cardella, specialized in procedural and criminal areas. He considers the judge’s decision to determine the preventive detention of Daniel Alves to be very harsh.

“The measure seems to me to be a little extreme, a little abusive. The judge could have adopted some other measure other than imprisoning someone who is being investigated. She could have withheld the passport, for example”, he opines.

The judge argued in the decision to arrest the player that there was a risk of flight, since the athlete no longer lives in Spain and has the financial resources to leave the country at any time. Furthermore, Spain does not have an extradition agreement with Brazil.

Pretrial detention is a precautionary measure, which is applied as a last resort and in specific circumstances. “In theory, it should be used as a last resort, after alternatives such as retaining a passport, house arrest before the arrest itself”, says Mayra

SPANISH CRIMINAL CODE

Spain’s Penal Code was amended in October last year with a new law based on the idea that sexual crimes must be typified based on the victim’s consent. Thus, all crimes of a sexual nature, regardless of whether or not there was violence, became “sexual assaults”.

The law, called “Only yes is yes”, was created to expand the scope of the crime of sexual violence. All non-consensual sexual acts were now considered violence. Contradictorily, however, sentences for some sexual crimes have been reduced.

The penal code of Spain considers sexual aggression “acts of a sexual nature that are carried out with recourse to violence, intimidation or abuse of a situation of superiority or vulnerability of the victim”. The penalty provided is from one to 15 years for crimes of sexual assault, depending on the severity, but it can also be reduced to fines.

According to articles 179 and 180 of the Spanish sexual assault law, the penalty can reach 15 years when “the sexual assault consists of carnal access via the vagina, anus or mouth, or the introduction of limbs or bodily objects by either of the first two routes. “. Sexual harassment without penetration can be classified as an attack against sexual freedom, with a lower penalty of up to 4 years.