Spanish police “unusual operation” around Catalan Parliament, warns chamber president

The Catalan Parliament president, Roger Torrent, expressed “discomfort” to the Spanish Home Affairs minister for the “unusual operation” the Spanish police has in place in the area surrounding the Catalan chamber in Barcelona. In a letter to the Spanish Home Affairs minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, Torrent complained about not being informed of the operation and asked him for details. "No communication has been received informing of these measures, nor the reasons to justify this unprecedented display," the letter reads. 

He also told him to guarantee that this extra presence of officers will not “disturb the normal working of the chamber.” Indeed, the operation around the Catalan Parliament was settled at the beginning of this week, as the speculation about a potential return of Carles Puigdemont on time for the Catalan investiture (called for next Tuesday) started to grow. The higher number of Spanish police officers also coincided with the remarks made by Zoido on Tuesday against Puigdemont’s possible return.