LONDON
\nFormer Spanish king Juan Carlos asked a London court on Tuesday to block part of a harassment case brought against him by his ex-lover, arguing allegations made by her against him and Spanish intelligence are covered by state immunity.
\nThe 84-year-old ex-monarch faces a lawsuit from Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who says Juan Carlos directed a campaign of harassment against her from 2012 that is still ongoing.
\nA lower court rejected Juan Carlos\u2019 bid for immunity in March, but he was given the go-ahead to challenge part of that ruling in July. Juan Carlos\u2019 lawyers told the Court of Appeal in London on Tuesday that he emphatically denies Sayn-Wittgenstein\u2019s claims. He argues that any alleged harassment before his abdication in 2014 is covered by immunity.
\nBut Sayn-Wittgenstein\u2019s lawyers say the acts of harassment were private acts which were performed in the service of the former sovereign\u2019s \u201chidden agenda.\u201d Timothy Otty, representing Juan Carlos, told the court: \u201cImmunity says nothing about the lawfulness or morality of conduct alleged.\u201d
\nHe said Sayn-Wittgenstein\u2019s allegation that the then-head of Spain\u2019s CNI intelligence agency, General Sanz Rold\u00e1n, coordinated a covert operation to search her Monaco apartment in 2012 was covered by state immunity.
\nOtty argued it is impossible for his client\u2019s \u201calleged private motives\u201d to be separated from \u201cthe public office that gave the defendant the status and ability to exert influence over public officials.\u201d
\nJames Lewis, representing Sayn-Wittgenstein, said in written arguments that Sayn-Wittgenstein wants to rely on new information, including the \u201cclose relationship\u201d between Juan Carlos and Rold\u00e1n.
\nSayn-Wittgenstein also argues that the harassment took place after Juan Carlos used her to hide \u201csubstantial sums of money\u201d from the Spanish authorities and that the harassment was designed to control her so he could access it.
\nOnce revered for his role in Spain\u2019s transition to democracy, Juan Carlos was forced to abdicate in 2014 following a series of scandals including his affair with Sayn-Wittgenstein and is now seen as a liability for his son, King Felipe.
\nSpanish prosecutors dropped two investigations into alleged fraud in the former king\u2019s business dealings in March after failing to find sufficient evidence of criminal activity, following a similar move by Swiss prosecutors last December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Former Spanish king Juan Carlos asked a London court on Tuesday to block part of a harassment case brought against him by his ex-lover, arguing allegations made by her against him and Spanish intelligence are covered by state immunity. The 84-year-old ex-monarch faces a lawsuit from Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, who says Juan Carlos directed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-294049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n