Why is Dani Alves being transferred to another Barcelona prison?

Dani Alves, remanded in custody as he awaits a trial for the alleged rape of a young woman at the Sutton nightclub in Barcelona, will be transferred to another prison on Monday. Mayka Navarro of Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia has revealed that the Brazilian will be moved to the Brians 2 prison, which is just over a kilometre away from the Brians 1 complex where has been held for the last three nights. The move will see the Brazilian have his own cell; up until now, he has shared with other inmates.

Why is Dani Alves being moved to another prison?

The Brians 2 penitentiary centre is normally reserved for convicted inmates but La Vanguardia believe that the decision to move Alves has been made to avoid any possible legal issues further down the line. The former Barcelona right-back has asked to testify once again to give a new version of the events which took place at Sutton, having already contradicted himself in several previous statements.

Because Alves has not been sentenced, the courts want to avoid any potential complaints from the ex-Pumas player in case prisoners take photographs of him in the communal showers, as has occurred on occasion with other inmates. To make sure that doesn’t happen, the decision has been made to transfer Alves to a prison that has individual cells with private showers.

Since being detained at Brians 1 on Friday, Alves has been treated in the same way as other inmates by prison wardens. However, chiefs at the Department of Justice of the Generalitat de Catalunya want to “guarantee his safety” and have determined that the best way to do this is to arrange for him to be transferred on Monday.

Department of Justice statement on Dani Alves

La Vanguardia also reveal details of a statement put out by the Department of Justice stating that the decision was made by different units of the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions, including the rehabilitation and victim support units. The statement claims that any other inmate would have received the exact same treatment and stress that the type of crime that has been committed, or has allegedly been committed, isn’t taken into account when it comes to transferring prisoners.