Brazil’s Supreme Court (STJ) today rejected an appeal by former player Robson de Souza “Robinho” and took another step in the process of upholding the foul conviction the former player received in Italy.
The decision was made by a special court of the STJ, which unanimously rejected a request from the defense of the former Real Madrid, Manchester City and Milan player to translate the entire trial in which he was sentenced to nine years in prison into the Portuguese. .
Robinho, who is in Brazil, although he does not have a passport and is therefore not allowed to leave the country, was found guilty by Italian justice of participating in a collective rape of a young Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub in 2013.
The verdict is final, but Brazil’s constitution prohibits the extradition of its citizens, so the European country’s authorities asked for the ratification of the verdict so that it can be carried out in Brazil.
A decision in Robinho’s favor today could have extended the case for months, but STJ magistrates chose to dismiss the defense’s appeal, reactivating the process for final ratification of the verdict.
For example, the lawyers of the former footballer, who has always denied the allegations, now have 15 days to comment on the execution of the sentence in Brazil.
The analysis of the appeal for the translation of all court decisions into Portuguese has been dragging on since April in the special section of the STJ and was the result of an order from the judge investigating the case, Francisco Falcão.
In his decision, the magistrate argued that there was no appeal because Robinho was protected by his lawyers throughout the criminal proceedings in Italy, so there would be no reason to speculate about possible irregularities during the trial.
That thesis was signed today by the remaining colleagues of the special section of the STJ, a body consisting of fifteen judges.
The offense took place in 2013, when Robinho played for AC Milan, at a club in the Italian city and involved a friend of his, Ricardo Falco, who was also convicted.
The verdict is final and there is no further appeal.
Robinho, a former Brazil national team international, has always denied the allegations and guaranteed that the sexual relations were consensual.
Source: DN
