Convicted rapist Dani Alves leaves jail after posting bail

Dani Alves (R) leaves on provisional release, flanked by his lawyer Ines Guardiola at Brians 2 prison in Barcelona on March 25, 2024. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Convicted rapist and former Brazil international Dani Alves left a prison near Barcelona on Monday after posting the one-million-euro bail set by a court to ensure his release pending appeal.

The 40-year-old has been in jail since his arrest in January 2023 on suspicion of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

Wearing jeans, a white poloneck and black jacket, his face expressionless, Alves walked out of the Brians 2 prison in San Esteban Sasroviras near Barcelona with his lawyer, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

He got into a white car without saying a word to the hordes of reporters waiting nearby, just hours after depositing the sum determined by the court five days earlier.

The former Barcelona player, one of the world’s most decorated footballers, was convicted last month and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail, with his lawyers swiftly moving to file an appeal.

But in a surprise move, the court agreed last Wednesday to conditionally release him conditionally in exchange for posting a one-million-euro ($1.08 million) bail, handing over his Spanish and Brazilian passports, staying in Spain and presenting himself to court every week.

Alves had tried to make bail several times since his arrest but his requests were turned down on the basis he was a flight risk since Brazil does not extradite citizens sentenced in other countries.

Alves’ lawyers are seeking his acquittal, and the appeal process could take months to complete.

Prosecutors, however, want his prison sentence doubled to nine