Spanish prosecutors say Madrid court can consider complaint against Julio Iglesias

Spanish prosecutors have told a judge that Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional can consider a new complaint against singer Julio Iglesias, according to sources at the prosecutor’s office cited by AFP. The report addresses whether the court has jurisdiction; the judge has not yet decided whether to open an investigation. [1]

The complaint was filed in September by two former employees who allege sexual assault and forced labour while working at Iglesias’s properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021. The women’s legal representative, Women’s Link Worldwide, identifies them as Rebeca and Laura; elDiario.es says those are names used to protect their identities. [2] [4]

The change in the prosecutors’ position matters because they closed an earlier complaint from the same women in January, concluding that Spain lacked jurisdiction over the alleged events abroad. The September filing is a new court complaint, not a reversal of that earlier decision. Women’s Link argues that Spanish law allows offences committed abroad to be investigated when there are relevant links to Spain. AFP said its prosecution sources did not explain why prosecutors had changed their view. [3] [2] [1]

According to elDiario.es, judge Antonio Piña has received the prosecutors’ report and given Iglesias and the women’s lawyers five days to make submissions on jurisdiction before he decides whether to open an investigation. [4] Iglesias denied the allegations in a statement posted on Instagram in January, calling them “absolutely false”, according to Europa Press. [5]