Brazilian footballer Dani Alves goes on trial in Spain accused of sexual assault

Brazilian football star Dani Alves went on trial in Spain on Monday, a year after he allegedly sexually assaulted a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub.

Alves, a former Barcelona player, is accused of sexually assaulting the woman on the night of December 31st, 2022. He denies any wrongdoing.

After arriving in a police van, Alves took a seat in the courtroom dressed in a white dress shirt and a pair of jeans. His mother was also present at the Barcelona courthouse. The trial is scheduled to run through to Wednesday.

State prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence for Alves if convicted while the lawyers representing his accuser want 12 years.

Under Spain’s 2022 sexual consent law, the crime of sexual assault takes in a wide array of crimes from online abuse and groping to rape, each with different possible punishments. A case of rape can carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Alves, now 40, was arrested on January 20th, 2023, after answering a police summons during a visit to Spain. A court ordered him to be jailed after analyzing the initial police investigation and hearing testimony from the alleged victim, witnesses and the player himself.

Three days after his arrest, Alves was transferred by officials for safety reasons to the Brians 2 prison about 45 minutes northwest of Barcelona. He has been there ever since.

Alves’ requests for bail were denied because the court considered him a flight risk, even though he offered to hand over his passport and wear a tracking device. Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.

In evidence given to state prosecutors, the woman said she met Alves late at the Sutton nightclub in one of Barcelona’s upscale neighbourhoods after