Court grants bail to Dani Alves while appealing rape conviction

A Spanish court decided Wednesday that Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves could leave prison if he pays a bail of one million Euros (USD 1.1 million) and hands over his passports while awaiting the appeal of his conviction for raping a woman in Barcelona.

Alves was found guilty of having raped the woman in a nightclub in 2022 and sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He denied wrongdoing during the three-day trial.

He has been behind bars since being arrested in January 2023. His prior requests to be released on bail were denied because the court deemed him a flight risk. Brazil does not extradite its own citizens when they are sentenced in other countries.