Dutch family in remote Spanish village denies allegations of abuse

The main village square of Arbúcies.Photo: Wikipedia

A lawyer for the parents of a Dutch family found living in a secluded house in Spain said the lawsuit against them was based on a misunderstanding.

The couple’s 24-year-old daughter, Daniela, banged on a neighbor’s house last month for help. Spanish media reported that it was the first time she had spoken to anyone outside her family.

Her father, named Job of Doan, and his Spanish wife were summoned to the local police station on March 3 on suspicion of abuse and persistent domestic violence. declined to comment.

She didn’t run away,” said attorney Pau Cimarro. “It was just a quarrel [with her father].’

The family, consisting of Daniela and her 18-year-old brother Alex, was dubbed the Spanish ‘Ruinerwold’ family in Dutch media after it was discovered in 2019 that the father and six children were living completely apart. is called Her nine-year grid at Drenthe.

The family was found after one of the children set off an alarm at a local cafe.

The farmhouse where the family was found is located in a remote wooded area in the town of Albusís in the Girona region of Spain.

devout christian

The children were homeschooled and were not allowed to watch television, use social media, or interact with outsiders. reported to be a member.

“We can confirm that the siblings were never detained or kidnapped by their parents,” Dutch daily AD quoted the family’s lawyer.

“They are not isolated, they have internet and landline telephone lines. Parents also never forbid their children from socializing with other people.

“It is absolutely wrong that I was allowed to leave the house only to go shopping with my parents.”

Her parents claim her mother suffers from electro-hypersensitivity (EHS), which forced her to live away from antennas and cell phones.

When the officers visited the farm the next day, they found Alex sitting at a computer in the house surrounded by padlocked metal gates and in the dark kitchen of the house with the curtains drawn. His computer had no internet connection.

Job, who says he is a web designer, admitted that his children had no proof of their identity.

A neighbor named Joseph in the Spanish media said Daniela had approached and alerted police to the children’s plight.

visiting uncle

Mr. Shimaro said he wanted to drive to his uncle in the nearby village of Matadepera. Her uncle is treating her for her psychiatric problems.

The parents were arrested shortly thereafter and questioned by the police, who took the case to court. The judge ordered an investigation.

At an emergency hearing, the judge ruled that the family could live together on the farm and that the children could not be taken out of the house because they had grown up and did not want to accuse their parents.

But the court ordered the parents to give their children more freedom.

Both parent and child will be called to testify in court at a later date.
Claims to clear up misunderstandings.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had heard the story in the media but had not received a request for consular assistance.