Weighty statements. The judge of the Barcelona court number 15, Concepción Cantón, has told a friend of the woman accusing the Brazilian footballer Dani Alves of raping her that she could also lay charges against him since what he did to her can be classed as sexual assault. In her statement this Friday as a witness, the friend detailed that when they were in the private room of the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona where the alleged rape took place, Alves approached and groped the three women, and that in her particular case he touched her breasts and other private parts over her clothing. The woman has ruled out making a complaint, affirming that what he did to her friend is more serious, according to judicial sources. It has also transpired that initially the victim did not want to report the ex-Barça footballer for having raped her because she asserted that no one would believe her. In the end, however, she went to the Catalan police and lodged a complaint.
In court, the victim's cousin and friend, along with six Sutton night club employees and the club's manager, who were present on the night of December 30th and saw and attended to the 23-year-old woman, who reported Alves for having sexually assaulted her. The cousin and the friend who accompanied the 23-year-old have endorsed her version, and stated that the ex-Barça player touched them, that they felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave, as they already explained to the Catalan Mossos police, according to judicial sources. On the other hand, Alves's defence lawyer has noted that "the inconsistencies persist".
Warning to lawyers
The judge in the case, who has returned to court after a month-long absence due to illness, issued a warning to lawyers on both sides of the case - prosecuting lawyer Ester Garcia, and defence attorney, Cristóbal Martell - that revealing information about the statements or the investigation of the case will be fined. Information about the investigation has not been declared sub judice, but the proceedings are "reserved", as is usual in criminal inquiries. Officers of the Central Sexual Assault Unit (UCAS) of the Mossos accompanied the two witnesses to court and prohibited journalists from moving freely around the Ciutat de Justice court complex until the testimonies had been completed.
The hidden toilet
The victim's companions told the judge that they were having a drink at the nightclub when a waiter advised them that Alves and a friend were inviting them to a glass of cava in a private room in the uptown Barcelona club. They entered the space but didn't consume any cava - they had already had a drink, they explained. They have testified that Alves touched them. One of them went to the main nightclub toilet, at the same time as the victim went into the small space that Alves had entered, which was not identified as a toilet and which she thought was a smoking area or the way into another room. On leaving this space, she asked her friends to leave the club quickly and in the cloakroom she broke down. In tears, she told them that Alves had raped her, and at that point the club's management initiated the sexual assault protocol and notified the police.
The bail hearing
Dani Alves has been remanded in custody since his arrest on January 20th, but his lawyer has appealed against this. While the investigation continues, the complainant's lawyer and the public prosecutor must now present the response to his appeal for provisional release. Alves's lawyer Cristóbal Martell argues in the submission to the judge that there is no flight risk since Alves has dual nationality and roots in Barcelona, and that his economic situation has lost "muscle" since he was fired from his Mexican club, Pumas, and has also lost the sponsorship from several companies.
Once all the documents have been compiled, the judge will have to send them to the Barcelona Audience, where a hearing will be held - as requested by Alves - in which the arguments will be put, on the one hand, seeking his provisional release, and on the other, his continued custody in the Brians 2 prison outside Barcelona, where he has spent the last two weeks.
The two minutes of the video
In addition to trying to counter the arguments of flight risk and the options he has due to his high financial worth, Alves's defence lawyer made an interpretation of videos recorded before the alleged sexual assault, asserting that "the climate of terror" described by the victim "is repudiated by the images". In particular, he explains that the woman was at the bar with her friends, and two minutes went by before she went to the small toilet in the the nightclub private room, which Alves had already entered. In relation to the inside of the toilet, there is no other evidence except the man's biological remains, and the woman's clear testimony that he raped her.