Brazil’s justice system is set to decide on Wednesday whether former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will serve his nine-year rape sentence, handed down by an Italian court, within Brazil.
The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) will review the Italian request to enforce the prison sentence given in 2017 and confirmed in 2022.
Expressing his hope for a fair hearing in Brazil, Robinho, who has maintained his innocence, spoke to Brazilian network TV Record on Sunday.
Robson de Souza, widely known as “Robinho”, has remained free despite his conviction for involvement in a group rape of a young Albanian woman celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub in 2013. At that time, Robinho was playing for AC Milan.
Italy’s highest court upheld his sentence, leading Italian authorities to issue an international arrest warrant. However, as Brazil does not extradite its citizens, Italy requested that Robinho serve his sentence in his home country.
In his recent interview with TV Record, Robinho accused the Italian justice system of “racism” and insisted that the encounter was consensual.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his hope that Robinho would “serve” the sentence within Brazil.