The trial against Dani Alves for the rape of a young woman began

The 40-year-old defender was arrested in January last year and has remained in prison in the Spanish city since then.

Alves He initially denied having had sexual relations with the woman, whom he said he did not know.

He later recanted and said that he had had sexual relations with his accuser, but that they were consensual, stating that he had initially denied it to protect his marriage.

The case has attracted great attention not only because of the profile of Alvesbut because the sexual assault It is a dominant political issue in Spaineven more notable after the supposedly non-consensual kiss that Luis Rubialesthe then president of the Real spanish soccer federationhe gave the lead Jenni Hermoso after his team’s victory in the world last August.

In Spaina rape complaint is investigated under the general charge of sexual assault and convictions can carry penalties of jail of between 4 and 15 years.

The Prosecutor’s Office Spanish requests a sentence of nine years in prison and? Alves compensate the woman with 150,000 euros ($163,215).

Alves He appeared in court on Monday. His mother and her brother were seen arriving at the courthouse, while her attorney and the victim’s attorney were also seen entering the building.

A three-judge court will preside over a trial expected to last three days in the Audience of Barcelona. In it they will declare Alvesthe alleged victim and about 30 other people.

The alleged victim will testify from behind a screen and her voice and image will be distorted in the trial recording to protect her identity.

Another famous rape case in Spain

The case of “La Manada”, a group rape of a teenager in 2016 during the holidays San Ferminin Pamplonaled to the tightening of laws against sexual violence in Spain and triggered a national soul-searching on the issue that continues to this day, as rates of gender violence remain high.

Alves He is one of the most successful footballers in history, with more than 40 trophies for his country and clubs such as Barcelona. After his arrest, he was fired by the Cougars of the UNAM of Mexico.