The trial of former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, Barcelona/Reuters
The former player of Barcelona and the Brazilian national team, Dani Alves, is on trial a year after he was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in a night club, in three fateful days in the Barcelona court.
The 40-year-old former footballer has been in custody for more than a year since he was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman in Barcelona on the night of December 31, 2022. The prosecution is demanding nine years in prison for Alves if convicted, while the lawyers representing the accuser want 12 years in prison.
Alves sat in silence in the courtroom after arriving in a police car.
His mother was also present at the court in Barcelona, and after a short break as the courtroom emptied, Alves' mother blew a kiss and made a heart-shaped gesture as Alves was escorted back inside in handcuffs.
lost weight
Alves/GettyImages, ALBERTO ESTEVEZALBERTO ESTEVEZ/POOL/AFP
250 members of the media received permission to be in court and cover the publicized event - but the complainant's testimony yesterday was behind closed doors, without access to the media, and it is not possible to take a picture of her to protect her identity.
This decision came after a video that surfaced on social media last month allegedly identified the woman.
A screen was placed between the complainant and Alves when she testified, and the court ordered that the video recording of her testimony be censored and her voice distorted to ensure her privacy in the event of a leak.
In Spain it is reported that Alves demanded that his mother or his family members be in the courtroom during the complainant's testimony out of fear for his mother's health.
"She has already fainted several times in the past year," she was told.
In the original testimony, the woman said she met Alves late at the Sutton nightclub in one of Barcelona's prestigious neighborhoods after midnight.
She accompanied him to a VIP area and a private bathroom, where he allegedly slapped her, used abusive language and raped her, according to her testimony.
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Alves' mother/GettyImages, LLUIS GENE/AFP
"My client was finally able to testify and put an end to it," the complainant's lawyer, Esther Garcia, told reporters outside the court afterwards.
"She was very brave to come this far."
Garcia added that an attempt by Alves' legal team to reach a deal was unsuccessful - because the complainant "did not agree to the sentence" offered to the player.
She declined to disclose the details.
Two women, a friend and a cousin, who accompanied the woman to the night club, testified that when she left the bathroom she was upset and told them that Alves "hit her badly".
They said that she was very afraid to report him to the police, she was shocked, she only thought what they would say about her and how they would look at her... She is obsessed with everything, does not leave the house, she is sure that everyone is just looking at her and taking pictures of her."
Alves will testify on Wednesday, his last day of the trial. Before he was indicted, Alves' lawyers tried unsuccessfully to discredit his accuser's testimony. Alves changed his line of defense several times. At first he denied ever seeing the woman. Upon his arrest he denied any sexual contact with her. Three Months later he confessed to sexual intercourse which he said was consensual. He said he tried to save his marriage by not confessing at first.
Today (Tuesday) is supposed to be another important day in the trial, when a friend of Alves who was with him at the club that night, as well as three employees from the club, will be targeted. As mentioned, on Fourth will be Alves' testimony.
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