BARCELONA, SPAIN: Former Brazil international Dani Alves is to be released from jail pending an appeal against his rape conviction in a one-million-euro bail agreement denounced by the victim’s lawyer as “justice for the rich”.

Wednesday’s ruling came a day after his lawyer requested the 40-year-old’s release on the grounds that he had already served a quarter of his four-and-a-half-year sentence in pre-trial detention following his arrest in January 2023.

In its ruling, the Barcelona court granted him “provisional release” in exchange for “the bail payment of 1,000,000 euros” ($1.08 million), also requiring that he hand over his Spanish and Brazilian passports, remain in Spain and present himself to court “on a weekly basis”.

But the decision drew a furious response from the lawyer of the young woman who was raped by Alves at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.

“This sends the message that there is justice for the rich, and even if there is a conviction if you pay bail there are no criminal consequences,” she told reporters, pledging to appeal on grounds it was “not in line with the law”.

“This is a very dangerous message for society,” she added, saying her client was “very outraged, very despondent and very frustrated”.

One of the world’s most decorated footballers who played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, Alves was convicted last month of raping the young woman in the VIP bathroom of Sutton nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

His lawyers swiftly appealed the conviction.

The court’s decision on Wednesday also bars him from “coming within 1,000 metres (yards) of the plaintiff, her home, her workplace and whatever other place that she is, as well as making any attempt to communicate with her”.