Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves’ rape conviction

BARCELONA: Spanish prosecutors said Wednesday they would a appeal a court ruling that overturned former Brazil international footballer Dani Alves´ rape conviction, a verdict criticised by the government and women´s groups.

Alves, who won the Champions League three-times with Barcelona, was convicted last year of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona in 2022 and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail.

But a Barcelona appeals court on Friday overturned the lower court´s ruling, saying Alves´ trial had inconsistencies and contradictions, and there was insufficient evidence to prove he was guilty.

The appeals court said the accuser was an “unreliable complainant” since her testimony “differed notably” from evidence of video footage taken before she and Alves entered the bathroom where she alleges the player forced her to have sex without her consent.

The public prosecutor´s office in the northeastern region of Catalonia said in a statement it intends to lodge an appeal against the ruling, without giving further details.

Hundreds of people rallied in Barcelona on Monday against the appeal court ruling, in a demonstration organised by feminist groups. Many carried signs calling the court decision “unacceptable” and calling for it to be revoked.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Saturday it was a “shame” that the testimony of a rape victim “is still being questioned” and that the “presumption of innocence is said to take precedence over the testimony of young, brave women”.

She apologised on Tuesday, saying she did not mean to call “into question the presumption of innocence” but reaffirmed her view that the appeals court decision to annul Alves´ conviction is “a step backwards”.