Alves to spend at least one more night in jail after failing to post €1m bail

Former FC Barcelona footballer Dani Alves will spend at least one more night in prison after failing to post his €1 million bail on Thursday. 

Barcelona Court ruled on Wednesday that Alves could be released on bail pending his appeal against his conviction for raping a woman at a Barcelona nightclub. 

The procedures for the payment of bail were not completed by the time staff finished work at 2pm on Thursday, and can resume from 9am on Friday. 

Alves will therefore spend at least one more night in Brians 2 prison, where he has been held since his arrest in January 2023. 

Bail conditions

Barcelona Court granted Alves release from prison on €1 million bail, despite having served only a quarter of his four-and-a-half-year sentence for sexual assault.

In addition to the payment, Alves is required to surrender both his Brazilian and Spanish passports, refrain from contacting the victim, and personally attend court every week.

The court's decision came after Alves' defense requested his release on Tuesday, despite opposition from the prosecution and the victim's legal team.

The judges argue that the sentence imposed is much lower than the 9 years requested by the prosecution and the 12 years requested by the victims' defense, noting that Alves has already spent 14 months in preventive detention. 

The court also argues that Alves does not currently have the economic capacity he had before his arrest, as he no longer has football and advertising contracts.  

However, in setting the €1 million bail, the judges have taken into account that Alves will soon receive an important sum of funds held by the Spanish tax authorities.  

"Dangerous" precedent

The lawyer of the young woman affirmed that the release of Alves in exchange for bail is a "dangerous" precedent as it will make people think there is a certain type of justice "for the rich" and a separate judicial system for the rest of the population.

According to lawyer Ester García, Alves was already handed a lenient sentence for having paid the court €150,000, and now he can avoid the rest of his prison sentence by paying €1 million.

For García, the risk that Alves could flee the country is "obvious."

The court's decision has been received with great "indignation" by the victim, who does not understand it.