Catalan police chief and pro-independence civil society leaders called to testify in sedition case

Catalan police chief, Josep Lluís Trapero, and the heads of the ANC and Òmnium pro-independence civil society organisations, Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart, have been summoned to appear in Spain’s National Court on Friday, to testify in an investigation into sedition relating to the demonstrations that took place on September 20 and 21 in Barcelona. The protests came after Spanish police raided several Catalan ministries and arrested 14 high-ranking officials as part of an operation to stop the October 1 referendum.

On September 27, the judge admitted the prosecutor’s complaint, saying that the charge of sedition was due to the "tumultuous uprising" that took place aimed at "preventing by force or illegally” law enforcement or actions of the authorities.

In last week’s resolution, the National Court pointed out that "there were signs" enough to believe that the events constituted a crime of sedition. The judge says that there was a "crowd of people" between the buildings being raided and that people tried to “violently” prevent the authorities from carrying out their work.

"We ask you to maintain confidence in the work of the officers, who have never stopped working with professionalism and respect for the law”, said the Catalan police on its official Twitter account. 

The judge also said that the tires of official cars were punctured, Catalan Socialist Party headquarters were attacked and members of the party assaulted, while demonstrators prevented the authorities from leaving the buildings they were searching.