The UB suspends professor Ramon Flecha, accused of "sexual, harassing, and intimidating" behavior.

BarcelonaThe University of Barcelona has provisionally suspended from his duties the emeritus professor of the University of Barcelona Ramon Flecha, recently accused of having sexual relations "in a context of clear hierarchical inequality" with "students, interns, doctoral students, or subordinates." This was announced in a press release, which also stated that it will launch an internal investigation, led by a "commission of experts" made up of three specialists "with specific training in gender-based violence and institutional harassment." At least two of them will be women.

The UB explains that, after meeting with the complainants' lawyers, they received the "formal complaint" against Flecha on Friday. "Eleven people describe sexual, humiliating, and intimidating behavior that is not only intolerable and contrary to the University's code of ethics, but, if confirmed, could be criminal," the statement states, adding that "by completely rejecting any case of violence, harassment, or mistreatment, the university is firmly committed to clarifying this situation."

Flecha, who describes himself in X as the "world-ranked scientist in gender-based violence," claims that the accusations are "totally false and the result of a perverse fabrication based on anonymity." As an emeritus professor, he was still able to teach, supervise doctoral theses and final projects for undergraduate and master's degrees, conduct research, and sit on faculty evaluation bodies.

It should be remembered that The Government already suspended it last week, also "on a precautionary basis," the Career of Excellence award for UB sociology professor Marta Soler, Flecha's successor as director of the CREA research community. In fact, in Tuesday's statement, the UB recalls that the accusations against Flecha, which were made public in the media two weeks ago, were against Flecha and "the CREA environment."

Several former members of this community or research group have already They had reported him in 2004 and 2016, when they declared it an abusive group. The UB itself had already investigated CREA in 2005 following the initial complaints, and the report that emerged from this initial internal investigation stated that the group's operations generated "significant confusion" between the professional and personal spheres of its members, which led to "conduct of a sectarian nature" and spoke of "interference in life." CREA's founder, Ramon Flecha, led it until 2006, when he was replaced by Marta Soler. The UB forwarded the complaints and the internal investigation to the Prosecutor's Office, but both cases, the 2004 and 2016 cases, were closed.

Despite the initial complaints being filed, following the report from the prosecutor who handled the case, the rector, Màrius Rubiralta, wrote to Flecha to immediately take "appropriate measures" to ensure that the CREA modified behaviors such as "the invasion of the invasion of the invasion of the collaborators."

Lawsuit against the ARA

Ramon Flecha and Marta Soler They sued the ARA the year 2020 for the article "A UB research group is denounced, accusing it of acting like a cult.", published by this journalist four years earlier. The article, following a press conference by CREA itself, explained the 2004 and 2016 complaints and the version of the research group or community, but Flecha and Soler asserted that the ARA had constructed a "completely false narrative" and that the article was a "serious and intense violation of the right to honor."