Barcelona (EFE) fugue remains.”
In an order, the third section of the Court of Barcelona thus dismisses the appeal filed by Alves’ defense against the decision of the investigating judge to keep the Brazilian player in prison, imprisoned since January 20 in the penitentiary center Brian’s 2.
For the court, the “flight risk remains” and no other precautionary measure “can neutralize said risk with sufficient guarantees” to thus ensure the presence of the defendant at trial.
In its resolution, the court rejects the main argument put forward by the player’s defense in the appeal, that Alves has a “life project” in Spain, such as the recent registration of his children at the house in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) or the fact that his ex-wife resides in the country, documentation that the player’s legal team attached on appeal.
The arguments do not convince the Audience
“We are not convinced by the arguments put forward” that these measures “neutralize” the “risk” of escape, the third section of the Barcelona High Court argues in its order, since, the court says, the documentation provided by Alves does not show that “life project” in Spain.
“The Spanish documentation and the registration of the minor children of Mr. Alves in Spain seem to have been made ad hoc, practically the same day of the resolution that denies their freedom, in order to be able to argue it before this Court,” the order reasons.
In this way, the Barcelona Court questions the player’s roots in Spain, and concludes to keep Alves in provisional prison that the “risk of escape remains.”
The court also highlights that Alves has been in pretrial detention for about five months, and that the investigation phase is almost over, so this period of time does not justify the lifting of the custodial measure.
The order also maintains that after analyzing the new proceedings presented by the defense of the former Barça player, led by the lawyer Cristóbal Martell, the “indications” of criminality assessed at the time by the court to charge him with the facts “remain unchanged”.
Alves’ lawyers question the young woman’s story
One of these new proceedings refers to the report provided by Alves’ defense on the images of the moments prior to the alleged sexual assault, with which the player’s lawyers intend to question the young woman’s story by suggesting that she was flirting with the footballer .
However, the Court of Barcelona says it does not share the theses of the defense, according to which the statement of the alleged victim “falls apart” as a result of said images, given the conduct of the young woman prior to her entry into the bathroom of the discotheque.
“We must remember that such behavior, even if it was a typical sexual courtship between two adults as the defense asserts, cannot in any way justify a subsequent sexual assault. Nor can the line of argument be founded to rule out the attack on the sexual freedom of the young woman in which she voluntarily entered the bathroom. Even if that were the case, it would not give any concession to Mr. Alves to impose the sexual act ”, the order reasons.
Thus, for the room, what happened prior to entering the bathroom “does not determine that she had consented to the proven penetrative sexual relationship, or that she lied about it.”
The court also emphasizes that the victim’s statement has “sufficient reliability traits in this procedural phase and the corroborating elements are varied.”