“This sentence is a triumph of feminism…” It is with certain satisfaction that the MP and secretary general of the radical left party Podemos, Ione Belarra, reacted to the conviction of former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, in the corridors of the Spanish Congress of Deputies: “A few years ago, this case would have resulted in total impunity: everyone knows that a rich and famous sexual attacker would have gotten away with it. »
Thursday February 22, the former right back of FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for a rape committed in the toilets of a Barcelona nightclub. “It is accredited that the victim did not consent, and there is evidence which, beyond the testimony of the complainant, allows the rape to be considered proven”, detailed the court in a press release. Namely knee injuries, psychological after-effects or the consistent statements of different witnesses. The sentence, reduced due to the payment of 150,000 euros made voluntarily by the player before the start of the trial, was accompanied by five years of supervised release and nine and a half years of prohibition from approaching within one kilometer of the victim, as well as 150,000 euros in compensation for moral and physical damage. The prosecution had requested nine years in prison.
“In this country, it’s over: no more machismo, no more sexual assault”commented the Minister of Labor and second vice-president of the left-wing government, Yolanda Diaz, calling for this conviction to be “serve as an example”. In many ways, in Spain, the trial of the former Brazilian international is already one.
“Only a yes is a yes”
The case dates back to the night of December 30 to 31, 2022, around four a.m., in the upscale Sutton Barcelona nightclub. While dancing on the floor, three young women are invited by Dani Alves and her friends to join them in their VIP area. Dani Alves dances with one of them, in a suggestive manner, before inviting her to follow him into a separate room, then into an adjoining toilet, away from surveillance cameras. When they come out, sixteen minutes later, the 23-year-old young woman takes her things and heads towards the exit, accompanied by her friend and her cousin, and collapses in tears in the hallway. She then tells them that the former player told her “hurts very much”while telling them that she wants to go home, because “No one will believe her.” A manager of the room then the manager of the nightclub took charge of her, called the police and an ambulance.
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