The Prosecutor's Office drops the complaint against Julio Iglesias for sexual assault

MadridProsecutor's Office knocks on the door complaint filed by two former employees A lawsuit has been filed against Julio Iglesias—through the international human rights organization Women's Link—for the alleged crimes of human trafficking, sexual assault, harassment, physical abuse, and breach of employment duties. The deputy prosecutor of the National Court, Marta Durántez, aligns herself with the arguments of his defense attorney, José Antonio Choclán, who argued that Spanish courts lack jurisdiction and concluded that it is "not Spain's responsibility" to investigate the events, which occurred in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. "There is no reason not to initiate the corresponding criminal proceedings [there]," he argues. In other words, they should have first filed a complaint in the countries where the alleged crimes took place, and if the case had been dismissed there, and a "real impossibility or lack of will" to investigate had been established, they would have had the option of going to Spain to try. The singer's lawyer accused the two victims of filing the complaint in Spain to achieve "greater media impact."

"[Spain] only intervenes if the directly competent state cannot or will not investigate, and this is duly proven," the prosecutor points out. She maintains that Spain cannot "act as universal judge without relevant territorial or personal connections," which in this case "do not exist." Furthermore, the fact that Julio Iglesias is Spanish does not imply "automatic jurisdiction" to investigate him. Likewise, the prosecutor insists that Julio Iglesias does not reside in Spain and does not have his "center of life, interests, or activity" there, and that both complainants are not Spanish citizens, do not live in Spain, and did not travel with the singer. Therefore, the essential personal or territorial link is "completely lacking," and none of the conditions that would open the door to initiating an investigation are met.

Julio Iglesias denied the Prosecutor's Office's "unilateral power."

After the complaint became public, Julio Iglesias's lawyer filed a document denying the allegations and lamenting that the "aggressive media campaigns" were causing him "irremediable natural distress" and "reputational damage." The document, which ARA obtained, argued at length that Spanish courts lacked jurisdiction because the complaint had been filed in Spain "without prior attempts" in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas: "The Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office cannot unilaterally assume the power to become a Universal Prosecutor, nor can it claim any jurisdiction that is more convenient for it." It concluded that the complainants cannot "condition the scope of a state's sovereignty" and cannot "deprive another state of its exercise of that sovereignty."

Pressure to maintain sexual relations

All of this erupted after a researchEldiario.esand Univision News It was revealed that in 2021, two women, who were live-in domestic workers at Julio Iglesias's Caribbean mansions, were pressured into having sex with him, as well as subjected to slaps, groping, insults, physical and verbal abuse, and an environment of constant control and harassment. Later, it also came to light that the singer It required gynecological and sexually transmitted infection tests. to his domestic workers.

Julio Iglesias's first reaction was to deny everything on Instagram, presenting himself as a victim of the accusers' "evil" and asserting that he has not "abused, coerced, or disrespected any woman." "These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness," he added. Days later, even published alleged private messages from the former employees. Now everything has come to nothing. The only way to kick-start a future investigation would be to file a complaint in the Dominican Republic or the Bahamas.