Dani Alves, a former Brazil international and convicted rapist, was released from jail in Barcelona on Monday after paying the one million euro bail amount set by a court to guarantee his release while an appeal was pending.
The 40-year-old has been detained since his arrest in January 2023 on suspicion of sexually assaulting a young lady in the early hours of December 31, 2022, in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub.
Alves left the Brians 2 jail in San Esteban Sasroviras, close to Barcelona, with his attorney, wearing trousers, a white polo neck and a black jacket. According to AFP reporters present at the scene, Alves had no emotion on his face. The former Brazil star, one of the world’s most decorated players, was convicted last month and sentenced to four and a half years in prison and his attorneys moved quickly to file an appeal.
However, in a stunning turn of events, the court decided last Wednesday to grant him a conditional release in return for him posting bail of one million euros ($1.08 million), giving up his Spanish and Brazilian passports, staying in Spain and appearing in court each week.
Since his arrest, Alves has made many attempts to make bail, but his requests for bail have been denied because he poses a flight risk because Brazil does not extradite its citizens who have been found guilty in other nations.
Alves’ lawyers are fighting for his acquittal and the appeals process might go months.
