Dani Alves is one step away from sitting in the dock for allegedly raping a young woman on December 30, 2022 in a nightclub in Barcelona. The Court of Barcelona has decreed the opening of an oral trial and has confirmed the order to conclude the summary. And it has given the parties five days to present the provisional qualification documents. As soon as it does so, if the accusation is maintained by the victim and the prosecution, the court will set the trial date. The Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution have requested that he be tried for sexual assault, while the footballer’s defense has demanded that the case be filed.
The Provincial Court has discarded the file. “At this time, we consider that there is sufficient rational evidence to agree to the opening of the oral trial under the terms requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution,” according to an order released this Tuesday. “The statements of the alleged victim and the witness statements and expert reports that appear in the case must be considered sufficient for this purpose, without prejudice to the final result that occurs after the plenary phase is carried out,” the judges state.
Justice admits that criminal proceedings that affect public figures have an undoubted media impact. And the facts are frequently debated in different media, the evidence is even analyzed, and opinions are expressed that may “attack the principle of presumption of innocence,” according to the order. However, these attacks on the presumption of innocence “have no consequences” for the judicial process, according to the magistrates. “In no way can they mean the nullity of everything carried out in the procedure,” warns the court ruling.
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The court regrets all the leaks that have occurred in the case and the existence of “parallel trials.” “But this does not mean the instruction is null and void,” the judges warn. They make this clarification, in line with the requests of the footballer’s defense. “The media exposure, the leaks and the parallel interested and guilty trial, which this case has suffered incessantly, sufficiently proves the violation of the objective impartiality of the investigating body,” according to Alves’ lawyer. “The only possible consequence of all these procedural irregularities is to declare the proceedings null and void and agree to file the case,” requested the former Barça player’s lawyer. The judge, in any case, has rejected the filing of the case.
Dani Alves has been in provisional prison since January 20 of this year, accused of having raped a girl in the toilets of the Sutton in Barcelona, on December 30. On two occasions, the Barcelona Court rejected the appeals of his lawyers for his release. At each request from his lawyers to be released, the justice system (up to four times) has ruled against him and has decided that he remain in provisional prison. The victim claims that she was raped and beaten by the soccer player
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