The State Public Ministry (MP-BA) recommended, on Tuesday (23), the removal of the statue in honor of former Brazilian national team player Daniel Alves, in the center of Juazeiro, where he was born, in the north of Bahia. The athlete was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for rape in February this year.
The recommendation is based on legal frameworks that prohibit paying homage to living people with public money. The complaint was received by MP-BA on March 25th of this year.
- According to the Organic Law of Juazeiro, “it is the responsibility of the municipality to provide for the naming, numbering and registration of public places, with the use of the name, surname or surname of living people being prohibited”.
- The State Constitution of Bahia, in its article 21, and Federal Law No. 6,454/1977, prohibit the attribution of the name of a living person to public property of any nature.”
By means of a note, Juazeiro City Hall informed that it will comply with the recommendation of the State Public Prosecutor’s Office and will collect the monument in the coming days. The date was not detailed by municipal management.
Wanted by g1Daniel Alves’ defense informed that he was not aware of the MP’s recommendation and would not speak out.
In the document, the MP set a deadline of 30 days for Juazeiro City Hall to justify compliance with the recommendation and forward the necessary proof of regularization of the situation.
Protest on International Women’s Day
Protest is held at the statue in honor of Daniel Alves, in Juazeiro
The protest featured posters that carried phrases such as “Stop killing us”, “No rape culture” and “Daniel Alves rapist”.
According to the Brazilian Union of Women (UBM), responsible for the protest, the demonstration was held against any type of violence against women. The group’s assessment is that the tribute to the player, who was convicted of the crime of rape, “hurts women’s dignity and reinforces rape culture.”
In a statement, the City of Juazeiro informed that it respected the diverse opinions of the population, but was awaiting the conclusion of the process to take a position, since the player appealed the decision.
Statue in honor of Daniel Alves is vandalized again in Bahia
A The player’s image has been vandalized at least three times since his arrestin September 2023. The last time, in February this year, after the conviction, it was painted with white paint. [Veja no vídeo acima]
Since the player’s conviction, residents of the city have used social media to demand that the city council remove the work. The statue, produced by artist Leo Santana, shows the player, in life size, with the Seleção shirt and a ball at his feet.
On February 23, Daniel Alves had his image removed from the Bahia museum, the club where he became a professional. The player’s record was on one of the walls, next to historic Tricolor athletes. At the time, the Bahian team preferred not to comment on the matter.
Former player Daniel Alves was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for rape. The sentence was announced by the Barcelona court on February 22, 2024 and says that it was proven that the Brazilian attacked and abused the woman in the bathroom of the Sutton nightclub, in 2022.
The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office requested a 9-year sentence for Daniel Alves and 12 years for the victim’s defense.
According to the sentence, the court applied to the former player a mitigating circumstance to repair the damage when considering that “before the trial, the defense deposited the amount of 150 thousand euros (R$ 801.2 thousand) into the court’s account to be handed over to the victim regardless of the outcome of the trial, and this fact expresses, according to the court, “a reparative will”.
The 150 thousand euros paid by Daniel Alves to the court were donated by Neymar’s family, according to information from the newspaper O Globo. To the g1, Neymar’s advisors said they would not comment. Neymar has been helping Daniel Alves financially and legally since January this year. The former player has been without access to his assets since he was arrested in January 2023.
According to the Catalan newspaper “La Vanguardia”, in addition to the reduction in sentencing time, the mitigating opens the possibility for Daniel Alves to be released from prison through permissions when he has served a quarter of the sentence, that is, one year, one month and fifteen days. At sentencing, the player must also have supervised release for five years after leaving prison.
The crime of “sexual assault” is provided for in the Spanish Penal Code and is typified in article 178: “Whoever attacks the sexual freedom of another person, resorting to violence or intimidation, will be punished as responsible for sexual assault with a prison sentence of one to five years.”
Judge Isabel Delgado at the 21st Hearing Section in Barcelona also ordered that Daniel Alves, after serving his sentence, supervised release for five yearsstay away from the woman for nine years.
The 61-page sentence considers it proven that “the accused suddenly grabbed the complainant, knocked her to the ground and, preventing her from moving, penetrated her, despite the complainant saying no, that she wanted to leave.” And he understands that “this constitutes the absence of consent, the use of violence and carnal access”.
The judge explains that “for the existence of sexual assault it is not necessary for physical injuries to occur, nor for there to be heroic opposition on the part of the victim to having sexual relations.”
Furthermore, the sentence specifies that, “in the present case, we still find injuries to the victim, which make it more than evident the existence of violence to force her will, with subsequent sexual penetration that is not denied by the accused.”
The prosecution is satisfied with the conviction. However, it warns of unrepaired damage. (Read more below)
Daniel Alves arrived at the scene around 10 am (6 am Brasília time). When the sentence was read, the parties to the case against the player were also present: prosecutor Elisabet Jiménez; the complainant’s lawyer, Ester García; and Daniel’s lawyer, Inés Guardiola.
Defense will appeal the decision
Daniel Alves’ lawyer talks about the court’s sentence
Daniel Alves’ defense lawyer, Inés Guardiola, said upon leaving the Barcelona Court that will appeal the sentence.
“We will review the sentence, but I can say that we will appeal. I still believe and defend Mr. Alves’ innocence. As you know, four and a half years are much better than the 9 or 12 years requested by the prosecution, but it is clear that We will appeal. We will defend your innocence until the end,” he said.
The lawyer also said that “Daniel Alves is whole” and that she will meet with him in the afternoon to explain the sentence.
Happy prosecution with conviction
Lawyer for Daniel Alves’ victim talks about the court’s decision
The prosecution of Daniel Alves, made up of the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office and the victim’s lawyers, celebrated the Barcelona Court’s decision.
However, lawyer David Sáez said that despite recognizing the victim’s version, the conviction could bring unrepaired damage.
“We are satisfied because the sentence recognizes what we have always stated: that the victim was reporting what she suffered. We are satisfied and happy for her and for all the other (women). We need to review whether the full content of the sentence, whether the severity of the sentence is in accordance with the seriousness of the facts. The damage has not been repaired and will be addressed if necessary”, said Sáez.
Lawyer for Daniel Alves’ victim talks about the court’s decision
In total, 28 witnesses, nominated by the defense and the prosecution, were called by the Spanish Court to testify. The former player’s mother also participated in the trial. Lucia Alves, who was the first to arrive at the Court, was called as a witness.
Daniel Alves’ versions
Since the beginning of the process, Daniel Alves has presented four versions of what happened at the Sutton nightclub. The last one was at trial, when he claimed he was completely drunk.
See below the different accounts he has given about the case:
- In early January 2023, in a video sent to the Spanish channel Antena 3 after the case became public, the player denied that sexual intercourse had occurred and said that he did not even know the complainant. “I’ve never seen this lady in my life,” he said.
- Days later, in a first statement to the police, Daniel Alves stated that he had entered the bathroom with the Spanish woman, but denied that there had been any relationship between the two.
- On January 20, summoned to a second statement at a Barcelona police station, when he was arrested in the act, the player Alves alleged that the young woman performed oral sex on him, but in a consensual manner. The athlete changed his version when confronted by the police with images from the nightclub.
- On April 17, 2023, already arrested, Daniel Alves declared to the judge responsible for the case that he had consensual sexual intercourse with penetration (at that point, expert examinations had found the player’s semen in the Spanish woman). The Brazilian, who was married to Spanish model Joanna Sanz, argued that he had lied to hide an extramarital relationship.
- On January 7, 2024, during his trial, he was interrogated by his own lawyer. In this statement, he cried and stated that he drank excessively that night.
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