Brazilian judges have ruled to uphold former AC Milan and Brazil striker Robinho’s rape conviction, adding that he must serve his nine-year prison sentence in Brazil.
The trial in Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the country’s top court for nonconstitutional matters, had a majority rule that Italy’s decision was valid in Brazil.
A Milan court in 2017 found Robinho and five other Brazilians guilty of gang-raping a woman in 2013 after plying her with alcohol in a discotheque.
The conviction was confirmed by an appeals court in 2020 and validated by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2022. Robinho who had played for Real Madrid and Manchester City, lives in Brazil and has always denied the charges.
Brazil does not usually extradite its citizens, so Italy requested last year that Robinho serve his prison sentence in his home country.
Robinho’s lawyer, Jose Eduardo Alckmin, told the court at the start of Wednesday’s hearing that his client wants a retrial in Brazil on the grounds of national sovereignty.
“Robinho is available for our judiciary. If an officer gets there, he will comply. He will not oppose,” the lawyer said. The first judge to vote, Francisco Falcao, said Robinho should serve his sentence in Brazil. He added that the former player cannot go unpunished and that diplomatic friction between Brazil and Italy could emerge if the sentence was not served.
“There’s no obstacle to validate the execution of his sentence. It was confirmed by a court in Milan, which is the competent authority in this case,” Falcao said. “The conviction is final. The defendant was not put on trial in absence in Italy, he had representation.”
Judge Raul Araujo, one of the two who disagreed with the majority, argued Robinho could not be jailed in Brazil for a conviction in Italy.
The conviction was confirmed by an appeals court in 2020 and validated by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2022. Robinho who had played for Real Madrid and Manchester City, lives in Brazil and has always denied the charges.
Brazil does not usually extradite its citizens, so Italy requested last year that Robinho serve his prison sentence in his home country.
Robinho’s lawyer, Jose Eduardo Alckmin, told the court at the start of Wednesday’s hearing that his client wants a retrial in Brazil on the grounds of national sovereignty.
“Robinho is available for our judiciary. If an officer gets there, he will comply. He will not oppose,” the lawyer said. The first judge to vote, Francisco Falcao, said Robinho should serve his sentence in Brazil.
He added that the former player cannot go unpunished and that diplomatic friction between Brazil and Italy could emerge if the sentence was not served.
“There’s no obstacle to validate the execution of his sentence. It was confirmed by a court in Milan, which is the competent authority in this case,” Falcao said. “The conviction is final. The defendant was not put on trial in absence in Italy, he had representation.”
Judge Raul Araujo, one of the two who disagreed with the majority, argued Robinho could not be jailed in Brazil for a conviction in Italy.