Depending on the perspective
Dani Alves complies with the obligation to go and sign at the Court; he smiles, says “good morning” and is loudly scolded.
A complex situation
A female police officer, a female lawyer and, between the two, Dani Alves. This image captured on Thursday in Barcelona shows us the life of a character caught between two realities of the same legal framework in the form of the penal code. This legal framework has yet to define the degree of responsibility of Alves in a disgusting case of rape. Alves is judicially trapped, caught by the balls, but free. This is what is difficult to understand.
The complexity of justice
It is not easy to assimilate that a man convicted of having forced a woman to have sexual relations against her will and having used violence can walk around Barcelona today dressed elegantly. Alves is in a cloudy legal situation, where his rights are protected. Although he is provisionally free, he is not guilty. This situation is difficult to understand.
Rights for all
Neither free nor guilty means that Alves is in a situation where his rights are protected. Although he has been convicted, he has the right to a fair trial and a second-instance review of his sentence. Until the sentence is final, he cannot be considered guilty. This applies to everyone, even the most serious criminals. Alves will return to prison to serve the imposed sentence when it is ratified.
A life in suspense
Today Alves sleeps at home, but he is not free. Last Thursday he had to go to the Court to sign, as he will have to do every week, to show that he is not running away. It was a short, eleven-minute visit to the Palace of Justice. He greeted the police officers who guarded his passage through the corridors of the building, said “good morning” to the few people he met and before leaving he stopped to contemplate the magnificent stained glass windows that adorn the ceiling of the great lobby of the building. He raised his head and showed admiration at what he saw, discussing it with the lawyer and an officer who looked more like a guide than a policeman.
The reality of social rejection
For a moment, under the light of the stained glass windows, Alves’ crystal eyes and smile seemed to be reborn. But when he went out into the street, a man standing next to the photographers and television cameras that were waiting for him brought him back to the dark reality of the social rejection that his person generates and the prison that awaits him on the horizon of his judicial journey. He is not yet a rapist, but society is already judging him.
conclusion
Alves’ life is a complex judicial situation that highlights the difficulty of understanding rights and responsibilities in cases of violation. Although he is provisionally free, his conviction will be ratified and he will have to serve the sentence imposed. Meanwhile, Alves lives in a reality of social rejection and waiting for his final sentence.
