Dani Alves acquitted by Catalonia’s High Court after spending over a year in prison
Credit : Shutterstock, Christian Bertrand
Former Barcelona footballer Dani Alves has been acquitted of sexual assault by the High Court of Catalonia (TSJC), which overturned a previous ruling that sentenced him to four and a half years in prison.
The decision came after the court found the accuser’s testimony to be inconsistent and unreliable.
The case revolved around allegations that Alves assaulted a young woman at Sutton nightclub in Barcelona in December 2022. While the earlier ruling accepted her version of events, the appeal judges—three women and one man—unanimously concluded that the original verdict failed to uphold the presumption of innocence.
Judges highlight inconsistencies and lack of solid evidence
The court was especially critical of how the earlier conviction was reached, noting gaps, contradictions and discrepancies in the complainant’s account. Surveillance footage from the club and forensic reports reportedly did not support key elements of her story.
The appeal judges stated that it was unacceptable for the original court to treat the complainant’s account of non-consensual vaginal penetration as credible, while at the same time acknowledging that many of her other claims didn’t align with reality. The panel called this a “logical leap” unsupported by the evidence.
Alves had spent 430 days in prison before being released on bail in March 2024. The court’s decision also dismissed appeals from the public prosecutor, who had pushed for a nine-year sentence, and from the private prosecution, which wanted a 12-year sentence.
Outcry over impact on victims and women’s voices
The ruling has sparked a wave of reactions across Spain. Equality Minister Ana Redondo expressed concern without directly criticising the court, saying the verdict risks reinforcing the idea that “a man’s word holds more weight than a woman’s” in sexual violence cases.
“We must ask ourselves as a society whether we’re truly valuing the voice of women,” she said, while stressing the importance of respecting judicial decisions.
Other ministers, including Vice-President María Jesús Montero and Justice Minister Félix Bolaños, called for prudence and focused on the need for better training for judges dealing with sexual violence cases.
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