Spanish Court lacks Jurisdiction!
Madrid, Jan 23 (EFE).-
The Spanish National Court (Audiencia Nacional in Spanish) closed the investigation into a 2021 complaint filed by two former employees of the Spanish singer Julio Iglesias for alleged harassment and sexual assault in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, citing a “lack of jurisdiction” and the incompetence of Spanish courts.
As of Friday, the Attorney General’s Office issued a decree concluding that the Spanish Court does not meet the legal requirements to investigate the complaint filed by two former employees against the singer for crimes including human trafficking for forced labor and servitude, sexual assault, bodily harm, and crimes against workers’ rights.
The Prosecutor’s Office explained that Spanish law requires the accused to be a Spanish citizen; that there be no open procedure in the place where the events allegedly occurred or in an international court; and that there be a “material connection with Spain,” such as the victims being Spanish citizens or residents of Spain.
In this case, however, the victims are foreigners who do not reside in Spain. “The events are attributed to fully competent countries,” and the accused, Julio Iglesias and two others, do not reside in Spain and have different nationalities (Spanish, Colombian, and Brazilian).
The denounced incidents involve a former domestic employee of the singer and a physiotherapist who provided work documents, photographs, recordings, WhatsApp messages, and call logs to support their accusations of sexual assault, verbal abuse, and workplace humiliation.
On Jan. 5, the two women filed a complaint with the Women’s Link organization, stating that they did so in the hope that others would report similar abuses.
Iglesias denied these accusations and published a statement on his Instagram profile saying that he has never “abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman.”
The Spanish singer, who is very popular throughout Latin America, tried to intervene in the investigation to access the complaint, but the Prosecutor’s Office rejected his request.
On Thursday, Julio Iglesias published several messages on his Instagram profile that he claimed to have received via WhatsApp from the women who have accused him of sexual assault, with which he seems to want to prove his innocence.
“The evidence is clear. The WhatsApp communications sent by the complainants during and after their employment demonstrate that the information disseminated lacks veracity,” the singer posted on his Instagram profile alongside screenshots of the messages. EFE
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