"A day in jail is hard. 30 is an eternity and from there you stop counting." This is the experience of some people who have spent many years serving their sentences and who know of the difficulties in facing confinement. His advice could be one of the many that the player Dani Alves has heard, who this Monday will complete his first month locked up in provisional prison accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in a bathroom at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona on the 30th of December.
However, Alves is hopeful that next Tuesday the Barcelona Court will accept the appeal filed by his lawyer, Cristóbal Martell, and order his release from provisional prison. He would continue to be accused of sexual assault but could defend himself from his house, although he would surely have to comply with some precautionary measure, such as appearing every 15 days in court or paying a bond, in addition to not communicating with or approaching the victim.
Sources from Alves' environment explain that the player is more animated since his lawyer's visit on Friday, along with his mother and brother, to the Brians 2 prison. clear before the court that the relations were consented. To prove it, they cling to the two minutes that pass from when Alves theoretically leaves the private room in the direction of the bathroom until the victim does, as seen in the security images captured.
Upon his release from prison, lawyer Cristóbal Martell stated that Alves "is calm. He has told me that he is at peace because he knows the truth." The court has taken a few days to decide on the appeal, which is opposed by the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution that represents the victim, and for that it is reviewing the images and documents that appear in the case, including those referring to the Alves' assets, both in Spain and in Brazil, since for the accusations it is the main reason for a flight risk.
However, the player maintains that his will is to face the judicial process in Spain and fight to defend his innocence. Prison sources explain that in this month in prison he has maintained that the relationships were consensual and that at no time did he assault the victim. Despite the fact that he is very reserved when talking about the night at Sutton, the player does not consider himself guilty and has gone from being resigned to jail to believing that he can be released in a few days after the oral hearing last Thursday.
While Alves regains hope, his days at Brians 2 continue to be marked by routine and discipline. The player did not stop signing autographs in the first days in jail and now he has put on a training discipline that he goes through the gym and playing soccer in the module that he shares with 80 inmates. His intention is not to lose physical shape and he also performs tasks as a personal trainer for other inmates. Precisely, this involvement with his fellow prisoners has been noticed from day one as he has shown a humble attitude and has helped them on several occasions, such as buying items at the commissary.
In his cell, which he shares with a Brazilian named Coutinho, he does not have a television and in recent weeks he has changed his intention from not having contact with his relatives to receiving them inside the prison, either in communications or vis a vis. One of the reasons for this change was his conversation, first by telephone and then in person, with his wife Joana Sanz, to whom he apologized for his infidelity and with whom he would have agreed to spend these hard times together.
Speaking to a Tele 5 program a few days ago, an inmate who was leaving Brians 2 assured that Alves "doesn't talk much, but what he says is that he has not abused anyone or hit anyone. And what if the girl He wouldn't have wanted to, he wouldn't have wanted to do it, that he didn't force anyone." Even at the hearing held at the Barcelona Court, his lawyer recalled that the victim did not have vaginal lesions, as stated in the medical reports, and that before the relations the security cameras show how everyone had a relaxed attitude.
Despite this, the evidence and indications that appear in the procedure, such as the player's DNA found in the victim, question the version that the relationships were consented. At last week's hearing, the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution recalled that there are numerous remains of the player found in the bathroom and in her clothes that, together with the images from inside the premises, contradict Alves' version. Specifically, the recordings show the Brazilian allegedly harassing both the victim and his friends before having sex in the bathroom.
In addition, the accusations believe that another indication of presumed guilt are the recordings of the security cameras that show Alves leaving the nightclub less than one centimeter from the victim, without taking an interest in her despite the fact that at that moment she was crying inconsolably and explaining the sexual assault to the vigilantes.
Along with these indications and the possibility that Alves faces a sentence of more than 10 years in prison, the Prosecutor's Office and the prosecution believe that there is a risk of flight since the player has a capital of one million euros for the two companies. that it manages in Spain and about fifteen companies in Brazil. Despite this, his lawyer defended that these companies have a minimum, practically symbolic capital and that the player has roots because he is registered in his house in Esplugues, of which he is co-owner together with his ex-wife.
What is clear is that Alves will serve a month in prison while waiting for the Barcelona Court to decide whether or not to accept the appeal. Suspicions of sexual assault and the investigation will last several more months.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
