German entrepreneur Corina zu Sayn Wittgenstein (57) makes serious allegations against former Spanish King Juan Carlos I (83). After she ended their relationship, he is said to have molested her and put her in “fear and horror”. The case is now before a British court. That could be a problem.
There the representatives of the former king seem unmoved. As the former monarch’s lawyer said Monday, he invoked a law after any allegations against him were submitted to the Spanish Supreme Court. In addition, the immunity of the previous king was noted.
Between 2004 and 2009 «intimate love affair»
Sayn Wittgenstein sued the former King of London for damages for bodily harm. According to his lawyer, Daniel Bethlehem, 61, Juan Carlos, who was Spain’s head of state from 1975 until his abdication in 2014, “strongly rejects” the allegations.
Court documents describe that he and Sein-Wittgenstein had an “intimate love affair” between 2004 and 2009 and that the king showered them with gifts even after they separated. When Sain-Wittgenstein refused to revive the relationship, he would exhibit a “pattern of behavior” that “amounts to harassment”.
serious allegations
The 57-year-old plaintiff said she was threatened and her property was broken into and that the former king, who now lives in Abu Dhabi, “asked to return the gifts”. More ‘covert and overt surveillance measures’ as well as ‘trespassing and criminal damage’ to their property in England would have put them in ‘fear and dread’. Shots were fired and security cameras at the entrance to the property were damaged.
Lawyers for the former Spanish head of state argue that the English court has no jurisdiction in the case. The 83-year-old is “not above the law” – but “due to his constitutional position (…) he is subject only to the case law of the Supreme Court of Spain”.
Many scandals surrounding Juan Carlos I.
On the other hand, Saen-Wittgenstein’s lawyers stated that Juan Carlos relinquished his status as head of state when he abdicated, and thus was not entitled to immunity. According to their representative, Jonathan Kaplan, it appears that he was trying to “saw” the proceedings. A verdict is expected at the trial listing the former king by his full name – Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Bourbon y Bourbon – at a later date.
Juan Carlos, once celebrated for his work in Spain’s transition from fascist dictatorship to democracy, has since been overshadowed by numerous scandals. Among other things, it is about questionable financial gifts in the millions from Saudi Arabia and allegations of money laundering, whose ex-lover is also said to be involved. Both deny the allegations, while the former monarch lives in exile in Abu Dhabi due to these allegations, while his wife Sophia, the former Queen of Greece, continues to live in Spain. (IMH/AFP)
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