After Buzzfeed News published an investigation on Moroccan women working in strawberry farms in Southern Spain, revealing that some of them are subjected to abuse and sometimes rape, Spanish authorities made their first arrest in connection with the case. The arrest comes as the Moroccan Ministry of Employment denied on several occasions the veracity of the alleged sexual abuses. After the Moroccan Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training denied on several occasions the veracity of the alleged sexual abuses witnessed by Moroccan women in Huelva's strawberry fields, the Spanish authorities in the region arrested on Friday a 47-year-old man accused of blackmailing workers into having sex with their managers, says local newspaper Huelva Informacion. The arrested, who works as a supervisor in one of the farms in Southern Spain, was released and will be awaiting his trial. According to the same source, the arrest occurred after an investigation was opened on Thursday by the Prosecutor's office in Huelva. The suspect, who has Spanish citizenship, was allegedly connected to several cases of sexual abuse and misconduct. More arrests related to the case may occur in the upcoming days, as the investigation requested by the General Directorate of Migration Policy of Andalucia is underway. The arrest comes as several Moroccan women, working in strawberry farms in Huelva, told foreign journalists that they have been abused and sexually assaulted by their managers. Denied by the Moroccan ministry The situation of these women came to light through an investigative paper published in April by Buzzfeed News, revealing that Moroccan women working in the fields are subjected to alleged abuse, rape, blackmailing and sexual harassment. The investigation has even featured the account of a Moroccan national who has allegedly filed a complaint against her manager, accusing him of raping her. Responding to the Buzzfeed News investigation, the Moroccan Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training issued a first communiqué in which it denied all allegations, promising to send a delegation to Huelva to investigate the circumstances under which these women work. Shortly after the ministerial delegation visited southern Spain, the Ministry published a second statement, stressing that none of the women working in Huelva has made a formal complaint denouncing abuse. Contacted by Yabiladi last week, BuzzFeed News argued that it «has a copy of the complaint» one of the Moroccan women has filed «with the prosecutor at the court in Moguer in early May 2017». «We have also been present outside the court when the complaint was filed and we have the copy of a medical report, stating injuries she sustained from the abuse...The medical report is signed by doctors of the Huelva hospital». Buzzfeed News In a different investigation Spanish newspaper El Espanol reported the accounts of seven Moroccan women who were blackmailed into having sex by their managers in Huelva's strawberry farms. Published on Saturday, 19th of May, El Espanol's investigative paper featured the experiences of Moroccan farm workers who claimed being assaulted by their managers and bosses because of their vulnerable status. As reported by Huelva Informacion, a series of actions have been initiated to identify the women who have allegedly been subjected to abuse and to determine whether they have filed complaints. The outcome of the investigation will be reported to the Spanish Labor Inspectorate in order to grasp a full understanding of the case.
