The complaint against Julio Iglesias is for human trafficking, harassment and sexual assault, and labor abuse.
The National Court Prosecutor's Office will take statements from the two former employees, and there could be more women involved.
BarcelonaThe three alleged crimes attributed to singer Julio Iglesias before the National Court Prosecutor's Office are: human trafficking for the purposes of forced labor and servitude; harassment and sexual assault with aggravated injuries; and crimes against labor rights. Lawyers from the international human rights organization Women's Link, which represents the complainants in the Julio Iglesias case, detailed this Wednesday in a virtual press conference the legal grounds on which they brought the case to the attention of the National Court Prosecutor's Office in Madrid on January 5. The Prosecutor's Office has opened preliminary proceedings to determine whether to pursue criminal charges, should it find evidence of a crime and have jurisdiction to do so. The lawyers have opted for the Prosecutor's Office to exercise its investigative capacity and authority, which would determine the specific crimes; however, if this does not proceed, the complainants could choose to file a private prosecution.
For now, the Prosecutor's Office has decided to take statements as protected witnesses from the two women who explained their case in the investigation they have uncovered Eldiario.es and Univision NewsIn their complaint, they denounced situations of abuse of power, intimidation, abuse, and continuous sexual assault, as well as unregulated labor, which occurred between January and October 2021 while they worked as domestic employees in the musician's mansions in the Caribbean. Women's Link confirms that other women who worked for Iglesias have come forward to the organization, but have declined to provide further details. Furthermore, given that the musician's "economic capacity and influence" is diametrically opposed to that of the accused women, if the case proceeds, they have requested protection of the privacy of the complainants and their families, that contact with the suspects be avoided, that their circumstances be taken into account (for example, that they do not reside in Spain), and that the revictimization of the complainants and the musician's current employees be prevented. For now, no date has been set for the women to testify. Nor has there been any indication as to whether Iglesias would be obligated to testify in Spain, given his advanced age (82 years), as the case is currently in the preliminary investigation phase.
"The principle of extraterritoriality"
The legal basis for pursuing the case through the Spanish courts is the principle of extraterritoriality, which allows crimes to be prosecuted even outside national territory if the judicial systems of the respective countries fail to act, according to lawyer Gema Fernández, the two women's legal representative in Spain. According to the law, this principle would apply directly if the victim were a Spanish national. The lawyer believes there is a European legal framework, such as the Warsaw Convention (of the Council of Europe) against trafficking in human beings and the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, which protects the alleged victims because the crime was committed by a man of Spanish nationality.
The lawyer confirmed that the alleged victims have only sought justice in Spain and not in the Dominican Republic, Panama, the Bahamas, or other countries where the musician resides, because "the legislation on addressing sexual violence, gender-based violence, and human trafficking [in Spain] is more in line with the justice these women are seeking," without implying that other avenues for justice and redress do not exist, either here or in other countries. Women's Link has acknowledged that Julio Iglesias's case bears some similarities to that of the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but "there is no evidence that he facilitated the sexual exploitation of the complainants by other powerful men."
Gema Fernández pointed out that the alleged "labor exploitation and sexual violence" against the complainants occurred in "a context of intimidation due to the presence of three more powerful individuals who increased the psychological pressure and the feeling of being unable to oppose and resist." The news report detailed how the domestic workers selected the staff. medical tests to enter the service (including gynecological and sexually transmitted disease tests, such as HIV, to which employers had access), normalized the abuse and, in some cases, participated in sexual assaults. The lawyer states that the recruitment, transportation, and housing of people for labor exploitation, under a climate of intimidation, through deception, without their knowledge of the working conditions (they had no contract, no regulated hours, no right to privacy, and their communications were monitored), and taking advantage of their vulnerability, constitutes the crime of human trafficking.
The victims also wanted to send a message explaining their reasons for speaking out. Rebeca explains: “I’m doing this for three reasons of justice. For myself, because it has been very difficult and because of everything I’ve faced. For the women who work in their homes, so that they are strong and remember that they are not invincible. And for my country, the Dominican Republic, because you can’t come here and do whatever you want without facing the consequences.” The other alleged victim, Laura, sent this message through Women's Link: "My purpose is that no woman ever suffers this type of abuse again. Women are victims and survivors, not perpetrators or guilty parties."
