Public prosecutor appeals judge's decision to grant Dani Alves bail
Barcelona Prosecutor's Office argues sexual assault conviction has increased flight risk
The Barcelona Provincial Prosecutor's Office has appealed a judge's decision to grant Dani Alves bail.
Barcelona Court ruled on Wednesday that the former FC Barcelona footballer can be released from prison on bail of €1 million, pending his appeal against a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence for sexually assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in 2022.
Alves has been in provisional detention since January 2023 and will remain in prison until at least Monday as he has not yet paid the sum required to secure his release.
The Prosecutor's Office argues that the reasons for keeping Alves in provisional detention still remain.
In fact, it says that given the conviction and the appeals from both public and private prosecution, with the latter requesting a sentence of up to twelve years in prison, Alves' detention should extend to half of the sentence imposed on him, which would be two years and three months.
The Prosecutor's Office that there is a "high" risk Alves could flee, pointing to his lack of roots in Spain compared to his country of origin, Brazil. It also notes that Brazil does not extradite its citizens for crimes of sexual assault.