The Barcelona Court has ruled out that the trial against the footballer Daniel Alves for the alleged rape of a young woman at the Sutton nightclub is held behind closed doors, with the exception of the victim's statement, although It will not allow images or sound to be broadcast from view.
In an order, the 21st section of the Court has rejected the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the private accusation exercised by the victim and Alves's defense that the trial be held behind closed doors, although it will guarantee measures to protect the identity of the victim as much as possible. the complainant and avoid visual confrontation with the accused.
In this way, the media will be able to follow the trial through internal signals.without broadcasting images or sound of it, and the victim will testify behind closed doors protected from Alves' vision by a screen, with the image pixelated and the voice distorted in the recording for the courtroom.
The only image of Alves sitting on the bench will be the one from the first daynext Monday, January 5, when news agencies, depending on the 'pool', will be allowed to take and disseminate photos and videos of the moments prior to the start of the session.
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The trial, in which Alves faces a prosecutor's request for nine years in prison and payment of compensation of 150,000 euros, It is scheduled to start next Monday and last until Wednesday, with the appearance of around thirty witnesses.
The Prosecutor's Office asked the Court last Monday that the trial be held entirely behind closed doors, considering that it was an “indispensable” measure to protect the victim's right to privacy and avoid the “serious harm” that a trial in court could cause. allowing entry to the public and the media.
On the contrary, the Court, in a resolution that cannot be appealed, although the parties may raise it again at the beginning of the trial, has agreed that the hearing will not generally be held behind closed doors, but only the victim's statement, “to combine the publicity of the oral trial sessions and the adequate protection of the complainant.”
In this sense, the Court recalls that the publicity of judicial proceedings, with the exceptions provided, is a “constitutional requirement”, not so much in favor of citizens' right to information, “but as a guarantee for the citizen that the Courts will correctly administer justice” and as a guarantee for the accused “that he will not be tried in a clandestine or hidden manner.”
“The facts that will be prosecuted in this procedure have an obvious media impact that arouses the interest of the media and citizens, without this in itself being an obstacle to limiting the publicity of the oral hearing,” the order states. In this sense, the Court admits that this “informational resonance” can have “serious consequences in the sphere of the complainant's privacy, who could be doubly victimized”, which is why it agrees to several of the measures provided for by the Victim Statute. to protect her.
Public audience
Dani Alves is accused of sexually abusing a young woman in Spain.
Specifically, the court has decided that the trial be held in public hearing, except for the victim's statement, which will be behind closed doors. Furthermore, the media – which will follow the trial from adjacent rooms, through closed circuit television – will not be able to record or broadcast the sound and image of the trial, nor of the victim or her close relatives in their home. statement as witnesses.
The Court has also established that when the victim testifies, the recording for the courtroom must be made with a distorted voice and the pixelated image“to prevent your image or voice from being leaked later.”
Likewise, the court has agreed that the victim's statement be made guaranteeing that there is no “visual confrontation” with Alves, through a screen. Another measure imposed by the Court is that during the trial all parties, as well as witnesses and experts, will have to refer to the victim as “the complainant” and not by her name or surname.
Furthermore, the disclosure or publication of information relating to the identity of the victim, data that may facilitate their identification directly or indirectly, and the obtaining, disclosure or publication of images of the complainant or their family members are prohibited. Precisely, in recent weeks the victim's lawyer has filed a complaint with the Mossos d'Esquadra for the dissemination of a video published on Instagram by Lucía Alves, the footballer's mother, which revealed the identity and personal data of the young woman, It showed her enjoying moments of partying with her friends and hinted that she was looking for fame and money.
Following that publication, the Prosecutor's Office already announced that it would take the necessary measures to protect the image of the victim in the trial against Alves.
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