Hearing allows a Dani Alves psychologist to examine the complainant

The Barcelona court has corrected the investigating judge and given the green light to a psychologist appointed by the defense of footballer Dani Alves to participate in the investigation of the young woman who accused him of rape at Sutton nightclub in Barcelona. on the past December 30.

In an order, spearheaded by ‘La Vanguardia’ and to which Efe has had access, the third division of the Court confirms the appeal filed by Alves against the decision of the examining magistrate to prevent the young woman from being examined by a psychologist for her part, whereas it is a right of the defendant to appoint an expert to intervene in the investigation.

Alves’ defense request that an expert witness participate in the victim’s questioning, a common test in rape cases to determine if the complainant suffers consequences similar to a sexual assault, was initially granted by the head of the court of instruction number 15 of Barcelona.

However, both the prosecution and the victim’s private prosecutor appealed the court’s decision, and the judge ultimately vetoed the presence of a defense expert at the victim’s forensic medical examination, to order a “ secondary research”. victimization”.

The defense of Alves, exercised by lawyers Cristóbal Martell and Arnau Xumetra, in turn appealed against the judge’s decision, alleging that their right to defense had been violated, an appeal that the Court of Barcelona has now accepted, knowing that the law recognizes the right of all defendants to “appoint an expert at their expense”.

In this sense, the Court of Barcelona reasons that, while the forensic doctor’s report “enjoys a presumption of truthfulness, objectivity and impartiality”, his opinions “are not of a privileged character and his conclusions are open to challenge and openness.” contradicted by an expert witness”.

In the opinion of the court, the presence of the expert witness at the interrogation is “compatible” with the status of the victim, since the acknowledgment of the prosecution is then “jointly, in one act, involved by the professionals.” .

A circumstance that, in the opinion of the court, would make it possible to reduce “the secondary victimization resulting from a repetition of the story” by the prosecution, as well as to take measures to ensure that the expert investigation is conducted “in optimal conditions, in an environment that encourages exploration, with as much privacy as possible.”

The young woman awaits examination by the Department of Psychology of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia (IMELEC), an investigation in which the psychologist appointed by the defense can now participate.

At the same time, the examining magistrate must now decide whether to provisionally release the footballer, as requested by the defense on January 20 after the defendant appeared before the magistrate on his own request to give his fourth account of what happened at Sutton nightclub on January 20. the night of December 30.

The magistrate’s decision can in turn be appealed to the Barcelona court, which last February ruled out the provisional release of the former Barça player, arguing that there is a risk of flight and that the evidence supporting him accuses of the offense is solid.