Joana Sanz, wife of Daniel Alves, arrives at the National Audience in Barcelona. She was one of the witnesses who testified at Alves’ rape trial.
The argument was defended throughout the trial by the defense lawyer, by Alves’ wife, Joana Sanz, by friends, by the psychologist who accompanied him over the past year and by Daniel Alves himself in his testimony this Wednesday (7).
The insistence on the version is a tactic in an attempt to obtain a sentence reduction if Daniel Alves is convicted, according to criminal law experts told the Spanish press.
O Spanish Penal Code has two articles that establish that alcohol consumption can be a mitigating factor in cases of sexual assault – Spain has not defined the crime of rape in its code, and, therefore, accusations such as the one made against Daniel Alves are judged under the umbrella of the crime of sexual assault.
The articles determine that cases in which the perpetrator of the crime, “at the time of committing the criminal offense, is in a state of complete intoxication due to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, (…) transient mental disorder may be a mitigating factor.”
However, the code also determines that the mitigating factor can only be considered in cases of “serious addiction” of substances such as alcohol.
In his testimony this Wednesday, Alves stated that he had “a few bottles of wine and several doses of whiskey” during a dinner with friends before the group went to the nightclub. Afterwards, in a bar, he stated, he drank gin and tonics and arrived at the Sutton nightclub, where the accused says she was raped by the Brazilian, who was already very drunk.
Earlier, the psychologist who accompanied him throughout the last year in prison – Alves has been in preventive prison since January 20, 2023 – also stated that his patient does not usually drink and, therefore, he was greatly affected by alcohol consumption on the night of the alleged crime.
The version of excessive drinking was also defended by Alves’ wife, the Spanish model Joana Sanz. She was one of the 28 witnesses called to testify during the three days of the trial and, in her speech, she said that, on that date, your husband came home very drunk and even “ran into a closet and fell onto the bed”.
The argument that drinking affected the accused’s normal faculties is a common resource in cases of this type, according to Sergio Arroyo, professor of criminal law and criminology at the National University of Distance Education (Uned), told TVE.
“But this state must be demonstrated and proven, which can be done through recordings that show the accused’s movements, reports and even a record of its completion,” Arroyo told TVE.
To this end, two investigators in the case said, also in statements given at this week’s trial, that they analyzed Daniel Alves’s consummation card at the Sutton nightclub and also the invoice from the bar and restaurant where Alves and his friends were before.
However, investigators stated that, on the night of the incident, Daniel Alves “was not completely drunk” and had “his cognitive abilities slightly affected, but he knew what was happening.”
Daniel Alves participates in the third day of trial
Doctors who gave testimony at the trial of former Brazilian player Daniel Alves this Wednesday (7), in Spain, confirmed that they found Alves’ DNA in material collected inside the body of the Spanish woman who says she was raped by him.
The doctors confirmed the press version in their testimony this Wednesday. They spoke during the last day of the trial, when the expected testimony from Daniel Alves.
Mass Court of Barcelona, where the sessions take place, is considering extending the trial until Thursday (8)if Alves’ speech goes on longer than expected.
The Brazilian arrived handcuffed and escorted by five police officers to this Wednesday’s session, which began at around 3:15 pm local time (11:15 am Brasília time).
According to the schedule published by the Court of Justice of Catalonia, he will speak at the end of the sessionafter the doctors’ testimony.
A psychologist who monitored the woman in the months following the complaint said that she developed a post-traumatic symptom when hearing people speaking in Portuguesethe language that Alves and her friends spoke in the nightclub where, according to her, the rape took place.
1 of 1 Trial of Daniel Alves — Photo: Jordi BORRAS / POOL / AFP Trial of Daniel Alves — Photo: Jordi BORRAS / POOL / AFP
This will be the first time that Alves will speak publicly about the case since he was arrested, on January 20, 2023, while giving a statement at a Barcelona police station. At the time, the police saw a contradiction in the version given by the Brazilian.
The expectation for this Wednesday is that the former athlete, who has been in pre-trial detention for more than 380 days, present a new version of the episode to the court. He must insist on the version that his defense gave this week, that he was drunk and, therefore, had his “faculties changed”.
That can guarantee Alves a sentence reduction – if drunkenness is proven, the Court can reduce the sentence by around three years, in this case.
During this Wednesday’s session, a doctor who monitored Alves’ psychological state said that he was not used to drinking and, consequently, his cognitive and motor abilities were affected that day.
- 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 when the episode occurred at the nightclub, argued that he had lied, initially, to hide an extramarital relationship.
Discover all the versions given by Daniel Alves for the rape accusation
At the beginning of the session on the first day of the trial, on Monday (5), the former athlete’s lawyer, Inés Guardiola, stated that the player says he is the victim of a “parallel court”, created, according to him, by public opinion. The defense asked for a mistrialalleging that the judge responsible for the case did not accept that a second expert examine the victim.
Guardiola also requested that new tests be carried out and, only after that, that the trial be resumed. The judge did not accept the request, and the Prosecutor’s Office contested in the session that all of the accused’s rights were preserved.
The 28 witnesses called to testify were nominated to participate in the trial by both the defense and the prosecution.
- Six witnesses testified in the first session, including Daniel Alves’ mother.
- The other 22 witnesses spoke on Tuesday.
- In this last session, experts will deliver a report and conclusions, and the judge responsible for the case will hear Daniel Alves.
Judge Isabel Delgado Pérez, who judges the case, will be responsible for preparing the sentence. To the g1o court said there is still no deadline for the final sentence to the player, but experts in criminal law told the Spanish press that the decision should not take long, as the Court carried out a preliminary investigation over the past year.
While the sentence is still pending, Daniel Alves will remain in preventive detentionin a prison on the outskirts of Barcelona, according to the current court decision.
The Spanish Public Ministry asks the player for nine years in prison. The defense of the woman who reported the rape wanted a higher sentence, 12 years in prison.
The woman who accuses Daniel Alves of rape claims that, on the night that, according to her, the rape occurred, she was with a friend and a cousin in the VIP area of the Sutton nightclub and that she had already danced with the player and his friends. After that, she says, the athlete insisted that the young woman accompany him to another venue.
The young woman claims that she thought that, in this second space, there was a new VIP area. Upon entering, however, she noticed that she was in a small bathroom, which only had a toilet and a sink. There, according to the accuser, the rape took place.
2024-02-08 03:00:31
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