Hotel owners hosting police ahead of referendum and port official testify in Catalan trial

Two owners of Catalan hotels which hosted Spanish police officers ahead of the October 1, 2017 referendum testified in the Catalan trial on Wednesday lunchtime.

One of them, Alberto Fraile,  who runs Hotel Gaudí, in Reus (southern Catalonia), said that there were "some demonstrations" outside his business during that period, in which people insulted Spanish police officers staying there.

Yet the director of the hotel denied being pressured to refuse rooms for Spanish police officers there.

Sergi Travé, the administrator of Hotel Travé, in Figueres (northern Catalonia), also confirmed his guest house hosted some police officers.

He said he witnessed two demonstrations against the police officers, "peaceful ones", and testified that his business received several phone calls urging him to reject Spanish police officers staying in the hotel.

"Insults, threats, and they warned us of boycotts if they didn’t leave," he said.

Port of Palamós head

After the two hotel owners, Pedro Buil, an official in the port of Palamós, northern Catalonia, also testified.

The prosecutors accuse the former Catalan territory minister, Josep Rull, of rejecting to let the Moby Dada ship, carrying Spanish police officers, dock in the port of Palamós.

Pedro Buil says that the Moby Dada ship could have docked in the port of Palamós despite Catalan authorities redirecting it to the port of Barcelona. He also described as unusual that authorities in Barcelona decided whether a ship could dock in the port of Palamós.

Rull is facing rebellion charges and a 16-year prison sentence in the independence trial.