An appeals court in Spain’s Catalonia region has overturned a rape conviction against former Brazilian footballer Dani Alves, citing “inconsistencies and contradictions” in the case. The court found that there was “insufficient evidence” to uphold the original guilty verdict and that Alves’ presumption of innocence should not be ruled out.

Alves had been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a bathroom at an upscale Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022 and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He had denied wrongdoing throughout the trial. The court’s decision was based on discrepancies between the victim’s testimony and the evidence from surveillance footage. The ruling dismissed the victim’s account of the event and concluded that there was a lack of proof to establish that the assault occurred without her consent.

Following the conviction in March last year, Alves paid €1m in bail to be released from prison while he appealed the decision. As part of the bail conditions, he surrendered his Brazilian and Spanish passports, as he was considered a flight risk. Now that the appeal court has overturned the conviction, travel restrictions have been lifted, and he is free to leave the country.

The case was significant as it was the first high-profile trial under Spain’s revised sexual assault laws which took effect in 2022, emphasizing the need for explicit consent. The “only yes means yes” law was enacted in response to a gang-rape incident at the San Fermin festival in 2016 and aims to ensure that consent must be clearly expressed and cannot be assumed from silence or lack of resistance.

The decision can still be further contested before Spain’s Supreme Court, potentially leading to prolonged judicial proceedings.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/dani-alves-cleared-of-rape-by-spanish-court-after-appealing-conviction-13337203