President warned of ‘criminal charges’ over pro-independence signs

The Spanish electoral authority has warned the Catalan president, Quim Torra, of possible “criminal charges” if he does not remove pro-independence signs or symbols in favor of the jailed leaders from government buildings by Friday at 3pm.

The electoral board has explicitly demanded that pro-independence flags, yellow ribbons and posters be taken down.

This comes a few days after Torra removed a banner calling for freedom for the imprisoned 2017 referendum organizers – only after Catalonia’s high court had ordered him to do so for a week and after the deadline they had set had passed.

The standoff between Spain’s electoral authority and the Catalan president over these signs is an iteration of a similar clash that took place during the previous electoral campaign.

The body regulating the elections made the same request in March, threatening him with possible criminal charges.

Torra eventually removed the signs, but also did so when the deadline had already expired, and this prompted the electoral board to take the Catalan president to court.

The inquiry led the Catalan high court (TSJC) to take Torra to trial for disobedience, which could see him removed from his post at the head of the government. The trial will be held on November 18.