On Tuesday at 9 a.m., Barcelona’s Audiencia section 21 will hold a hearing requested by the footballer Dani Alves’ lawyer to reconsider his bid for provisional freedom. The convicted individual will participate via videoconference from Brians 2 prison, while the Barcelona Audiencia courtroom hosts the prosecutor and defense and prosecution attorneys, though the session itself is not public.
Around late February, the Brazilian player was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for raping a woman in the Sutton nightclub bathrooms in Barcelona in the early hours of December 31, 2022.
All parties involved—the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution, representing the victim—have appealed the ruling, seeking a heavier sentence. They contend that the court’s decision to apply a damage-reparation discount should not be allowed given the 150,000 euros Alves paid before the trial to compensate the victim.
Alves’ attorney urged acquittal, arguing that the sexual relations were consensual or, alternatively, that the damage-reparation should count as an exonerating factor and reduce the sentence to one year, which the player could have served.
Risk to attendance
However, Alves’ criminal process has been affected, like those of many inmates, by the protests of prison workers unions. Brians 2 prison, where the player has been held for more than a year, allows inmates to leave their cells but no activities are carried out due to insufficient staff. A similar situation exists at Quatre Camins and Joves.
If the protests continue, Alves may be unable to attend the videoconference room
Consequently, if the strike persists on Tuesday, Alves would be unable to participate from the prison’s videoconference room to be present at the hearing. The blockades prevent educational or professional activities, training, attorney visits to inmates, non-urgent medical trips, transfers between prisons, and appearances at the courts. There have already been delays and cancellations of inmate videoconferences for court appearances, including the one scheduled for Alves this week.
Potential outcome
After hearing the parties, the tribunal may decide on Alves’ provisional release during Tuesday’s session. There is a real possibility of authorizing his release pending the outcome of the appeal before the Catalan High Court of Justice, which could take months to resolve.
Alves has served a quarter of his sentence so far; if the conviction becomes final and is unappealed, he could be eligible for certain prison permissions. Moreover, after the TSJC ruling, the parties may appeal to the Supreme Court, so the sentence is unlikely to be final for about a year and could still change.
Therefore, there exists a chance that Alves could be granted provisional freedom soon, though the unexpected prison-blockades by prison workers add another hurdle to his release.
In short, the possibility remains that Alves could be released on provisional terms in the near term, yet access restrictions at the prisons could complicate or even block the process.