Former footballer Robinho was arrested in Santos, Brazil, after the Supreme Court rejected his request for a reprieve on Thursday to serve his nine-year prison sentence to which he was sentenced in Italy for rape.
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“ The detention order is maintained (…) so that he can begin serving his sentence », indicated Thursday evening the judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil Luiz Fux. Robinho’s lawyers had appealed to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on Wednesday in the hope that it would suspend the incarceration order.
Federal police told AFP that Robson de Souza, his real name, was arrested in the port city of Santos, where he lives. A short video, published by the Globo channel, shows the former Manchester City striker inside police headquarters.
Robinho, 40, will be transferred to Tremembé prison, some 150 km from Sao Paulo (southeast), a member of the federal police told the press.
The former striker with 100 caps with the five-time world champions was found guilty of gang rape of a young Albanian woman who was celebrating her 23rd birthday in a Milanese nightclub. The facts date back to 2013, when he played for AC Milan.
The sentence was upheld by the Italian Court of Cassation in January 2022.
The former footballer has always proclaimed his innocence, as he did once again on Sunday, attributing his conviction to “ racism “.
“ It was agreed. I never denied (having had relations with the victim, Editor’s note). I could have denied it, because my DNA was not found, but I am not a liar”he said during an interview with the Brazilian channel TV Record.
According to the indictment, Robinho and five other Brazilians made their victim drink “ to the point of leaving her unconscious and unable to defend herself » and then had “ sexual intercourse several times in a row » with her.
As the player had returned to Brazil at the time of the trial in Italy in 2017 and the Brazilian Constitution does not allow the extradition of its nationals, Italian justice demanded that Robinho serve his sentence in his native country.
A request that the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) of Brasilia accepted on Wednesday, by a large majority.
“ Immediate effect »
The president of the STJ Maria Thereza de Assis Moura signed the document confirming the decision on Thursday afternoon “ with immediate effect » of this high court, allowing a judge in Santos (south-east) to issue a committal warrant.
This legal drama is particularly commented on in Brazil, while another rape case involves another Brazilian star, Daniel Alves. The former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain full-back, imprisoned in Spain, was sentenced at the end of February to four and a half years in prison for the rape of a young woman in December 2022 in a nightclub in Barcelona, a sentence much lower than the requisitions of the prosecution which demanded nine years in prison.
Robinho will not be able to pay for his freedom while waiting for all appeals to be exhausted, because Brazil “ does not allow deposit » for the crime he committed, criminal lawyer Leonardo Pantaleão told AFP.
On Thursday, Leila Pereira, president of the Brazilian club Palmeiras, criticized the silence of football governing bodies regarding these two rape cases involving football stars in Brazil.
“ Nobody says anything (…) It’s like a slap in the face to all of us”lamented, during an interview with the UOL information site, the one who is one of the rare women at the head of a first division club throughout the world.
The President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Robinho should “ pay the price for his irresponsibility » for a crime unforgivable ». Then asserted that “ the money that Daniel Alves has »who can be released on probation against the provision of a large deposit, “ cannot atone for a man’s offense against a woman he has raped.”.