Following a recommendation from the MP-BA, Juazeiro City Hall will remove a statue of Daniel Alves | ba

The Public Ministry of Bahia (MP-BA) recommended the removal of the statue of Daniel Alves, in Juazeiro, a city 502 km away from Salvador. According to the state’s MP, the legislation prohibits paying homage to living people in public interest. On Thursday afternoon, Juazeiro City Hall informed that it will comply with the decision and will remove the monument in the next few days.

Daniel Alves appears before Spanish Justice for the first time on provisional release

The MP-BA’s recommendation was made after a procedure instituted by prosecutor Daniela Baqueiro with the aim of investigating a complaint received by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on March 25 of this year.

– The municipal administration sent to the MP a copy of Administrative Process nº 295/2019, Auction nº 137/2019 and the payment processes relating to the acquisition of the statue of Daniel Alves, which attest that it is a public asset acquired with public resources, being that it is not allowed to honor a living person with a public good – explained Daniela Baqueiro.

The Organic Law of Juazeiro indicates that “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”.

Furthermore, 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”

Daniel Alves served preventive detention for 14 months. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for rape. However, a decision on March 20 allowed the full-back to leave prison while the appeals against his conviction are judged, subject to payment of bail of 1 million euros (around R$5.44 million), among other obligations.

The Brazilian left prison on March 25th. He is prevented from leaving Spain and must appear in court weekly.

Video shows resident of Juazeiro cleaning the statue of Daniel Alves

The woman, who cleaned all the paint marks with detergent, identified herself as Ana Lúcia and the player’s cousin. GE got in touch with Ney Alves, Daniel’s brother, who said he didn’t know Ana Lúcia, but didn’t rule out the relationship.

– We have a lot of relatives spread out, a lot of people we don’t even know. We left there very early. I do not know her. But I really liked the attitude, I was moved. Seeing our city, our own city, treating him this way makes us very sad – he told ge.

– The mayor called me to a meeting to talk about this. I thought her attitude was really cool, she said she wouldn’t take it off until the process was finished. Because it’s not finished yet. It is under trial and can be appealed. I have expectations that he will be acquitted – added Ney Alves.

Statue of player Daniel Alves is vandalized in Juazeiro

This is not the first time that the statue of Daniel Alves has been vandalized. Since the player’s arrest, in September 2023, the image has been damaged on at least two occasions. In one of them, it was covered with a black bag and adhesive tape.

The work, produced by artist Leo Santana, shows the player, in life size, wearing the Seleção shirt and a ball at his feet.

At the end of January, 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.

The expectation is that appeals against Daniel Alves’ conviction in the appeal room of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia will be deliberated in the coming months. All parties appealed the sentence: Daniel Alves’ defense requests acquittal; the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the victim’s lawyers demand a maximum sentence of 12 years. The case can still be taken to the Supreme Court, the legal body of last resort in Spain.

As the prison sentence imposed was low, the player’s defense believes that the arguments will fall. Before the trial, the complainant asked for the maximum sanction, and the Public Prosecutor’s Office proposed nine years in prison.

Daniel Alves was accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in the bathroom of a nightclub in Barcelona, ​​on December 30, 2022. He was arrested on January 20, 2023, when he appeared for a statement, and held in pre-trial detention , at the Brians 2 Penitentiary Center.

Two weeks after the three-day trial, in February 2024, the 21st Section of the Barcelona Court of Justice announced the sentence of four and a half years in prison plus five years of supervised release.

MP recommends removal of statue of Daniel Alves in Juazeiro

Last Tuesday, the 23rd, the state Public Prosecutor’s Office recommended that the Municipality of Juazeiro remove the statue of Daniel Alves located on Rua Aprígio Duarte, in the city center, due to legislation prohibiting tributes to living people made with public property. The recommendation stems from a procedure initiated by public prosecutor Daniela Baqueiro to investigate a complaint received by the MP on March 25th of this year.

“The municipal administration sent to the MP a copy of Administrative process nº 295/2019, of Auction nº 137/2019 and the payment processes referring to the acquisition of the statue of Daniel Alves, which attest that it is a public asset acquired with public resources, being that it is not allowed to honor a living person with public property”, explained the prosecutor.

According to the Organic Law of Juazeiro, the Municipality is responsible for providing the name, numbering and registration of public places, with the use of the name, surname or surname of living people being prohibited. Likewise, 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. In the document, the MP set a deadline of 30 days for the Municipality to justify compliance with the recommendation and provide the necessary proof of regularization of the situation.

Juazeiro City Hall informs that it will comply with the recommendation of the Public Ministry of Bahia (MP-BA), based on Law No. 6,454/1977, which regulates the use of public resources for the acquisition and installation of monuments of living people, and will collect of the monument in the coming days.