Spanish court grants bail to soccer star Dani Alves while appealing sexual assault conviction

A Spanish court has decided to release Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves if he pays a bail of one million euros ($1.1 million US) and hands over his passports while awaiting the appeal of his conviction for sexually assulating a woman in Barcelona.

The court issued the ruling on Wednesday.

Alves was convicted in February and sentenced to four years and six months in prison for the sexual assault of the woman in a nightclub in 2022.

He has been behind bars since being arrested in January 2023. His prior requests to be let free on bail were denied because the court deemed him a flight risk.

To now go free, in addition to the bail money, Alves is also required to hand over his Brazilian and Spanish passports and is prohibited from leaving the country.

Both his defence lawyer and the state prosecutor have appealed the conviction. His defence is seeking his acquittal while the prosecutor wants his prison sentence increased to nine years. There is no date yet for the new trial at a higher court in Barcelona. It can then go to the Supreme Court in Madrid.