Sawt Falasteen - Ex-Brazil star Dani Alves had drunk a lot, friend tells rape trial

Some 20 witnesses took the stand during the afternoon hearing at a Barcelona court for a session focused on Alves's state of inebriation and the victim's distress after the alleged assault.

The trial opened on Monday with the young woman victim testifying for over an hour from behind a screen to avoid being "visually confronted" by Alves in a closed-door hearing.

One of the world's most decorated footballers who played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain during a storied career, Alves is accused of raping the woman in a VIP section of Barcelona's Sutton nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

The defender was arrested three weeks later and has been detained ever since. He denies all the charges.

Among those testifying on Tuesday were various police officers who spoke of the victim's state of agitation and "shock" when they arrived at the nightclub, as well as her anxiety that "nobody would believe her" if she filed a complaint.

On Monday, her friend and her cousin, who were with her at the nightclub, also told the court about her anguished state after fleeing the bathroom.

Alves was present in court again on Tuesday, wearing a grey jumper, dark trousers and trainers. Handcuffed to a police officer, he sat silently in the front row.

Also testifying was Alves's Brazilian friend, Bruno, who went to the club with the footballer and told the court, with the help of a Portuguese translator, that the footballer had drunk a lot of alcohol in various bars in the hours before they went to the nightclub.

- Stank of alcohol -

On entering, they invited the three young women to join their table in the VIP area, and Alves had demonstrated what Bruno described as "a respectful chemistry" towards the victim.

He said he saw Alves going off to the bathroom in the VIP area and the young woman following him.

After coming out of the bathroom, Alves "continued dancing" and did not speak with his friend about what had happened.

Alves's 31-year-old wife Joana Sanz also took the stand for 10 minutes, telling the court she was not legally divorced from the footballer and saying she was at their Barcelona house on the night in question.

When he came home, he "smelt of alcohol" and on entering the bedroom, "he bumped into several pieces of furniture and collapsed on the bed".

Sanz said she didn't want to talk to him because of "the state he was in".

The footballer, who is accused of "sexual assault with penetration", will testify on Wednesday on the last day of the trial. He has insisted that what happened between them was consensual.

But his version clashes with that of the victim and prosecutors, who are calling for a nine-year jail sentence followed by 10 years of probation.

They also want him to pay 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation.

At Monday's hearing, the victim's testimony was recorded as she spoke but her face was later pixellated and her voice modified to avoid her identity being exposed if the footage were to be leaked.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST