Spanish prosecutors have dropped a sex abuse and human trafficking complaint against veteran singer Julio Iglesias, ruling that Spain’s courts do not have jurisdiction over the case.
The complaint was brought by two women — a domestic worker and a physiotherapist — who alleged they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while employed at Iglesias’s properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021. ALSO READ: Julio Iglesias faces sexual assault allegations from former live-in staff at Caribbean homes.
The claims drew widespread attention in Spain after they were published last week as part of a joint investigation by online newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision.
In a statement issued on Friday, prosecutors said the preliminary inquiry had been closed due to a ‘lack of jurisdiction of the Spanish courts’. After examining the complaint, they concluded they could not proceed because the alleged victims ‘are foreign’ and ‘do not reside in Spain’, while the accused is also based outside the country.
Madrid-born Iglesias, now 82, divides his time between Miami, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Prosecutors noted that the alleged acts took place ‘in countries fully competent’ to investigate them.
Human rights groups Women’s Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on 5 January detailed conduct that could amount to ‘a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour’ and ‘crimes against sexual freedom’.
Reacting to the decision, the two organisations described it as ‘regrettable’ and said the women ‘will continue fighting for justice and will pursue all available legal avenues’, according to a statement published by elDiario.es.
Prosecutors stressed that their ruling does not bar the women from pursuing their case in other jurisdictions.
According to testimony gathered by the advocacy groups, the women alleged that Iglesias subjected them to ‘sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off’.
Iglesias has denied the accusations, calling them ‘absolutely false’ and stating that he had never ‘abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman’.
‘I have never felt such malice, but I still have the strength to let people know the whole truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious accusation,’ he wrote in an Instagram message last week. ALSO READ: Julio Iglesias says abuse allegations are ‘absolutely false’ and ‘deeply sadden’ him.
Earlier this week, Iglesias’s lawyer, José Antonio Choclán, told Spain’s top criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, that any alleged offences should be prosecuted in the countries where they were said to have occurred, and asked for the case to be closed. ALSO READ: Julio Iglesias argues Spanish courts lack jurisdiction over alleged abuse case.
Women’s Link Worldwide said the complaint had been filed in Spain rather than in the Caribbean countries involved because of specific aspects of Spanish legislation on gender-based violence and human trafficking.
Iglesias, who is also the father of fellow singer Enrique Iglesias, is a Grammy-winning artist who has sold more than 300 million records over a career spanning several decades.
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