Dani Alves’ sexual assault conviction has been overturned on appeal.
The former Barcelona and Brazil star was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in February last year after being found guilty of assaulting a woman at a nightclub on December 31st, 2022.
He was released on bail in March 2024 while his appeal was heard, and on Friday it was announced that the Appeals Division of Catalonia’s High Court of Justice had unanimously upheld his appeal and acquitted him.
The appeal court said in its judgment that the ruling in the original court case “contains, throughout the reasoning, a series of gaps, inaccuracies, inconsistencies and contradictions regarding the facts, the legal assessment and their consequences”.
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“The lower court’s judgment presents very significant appraisal deficiencies and has not exercised extreme caution in comparing the contents of the evidence,” a release setting out the appeal court’s judgement said.
“The complainant’s account, which should have been subjected to greater scrutiny, has not been compared with the fingerprint and biological evidence, which support the defence’s argument.
“These are neutral and scientific contrasting evidence. As we stated at the beginning, what is stated in the judgment must be able to be reviewed and verified in the second instance.
“The evidentiary inadequacies that have been expressed lead to the conclusion that the standard required by the presumption of innocence has not been met, which must have its effects leading to the revocation of the first-instance judgement and the issuance of an acquittal, reversing the precautionary measures adopted.”
