Former Catalan police chief called to court

Spain's National Court summoned the former Catalan police chief Josep Lluís Trapero for Friday, adding a new crime of sedition related to the independence referendum to the ongoing investigation.

Last October, when Catalonia held the vote that would eventually lead to a declaration of independence, Trapero was in the spotlight due to his role as leader of Catalonia’s own law enforcement agency, the Mossos d’Esquadra. While the Spanish police cracked down on referendum voters—leaving 1,066 injured, according to the Catalan government—the Mossos avoided using violence.

Judge Carmen Lamela accused Trapero of attempting to “facilitate the celebration of a referendum and the declaration of a Catalan republic, independent from Spain.” According to Lamela, he did so despite knowing that it “contravened legal means,” and ignoring the instructions from Spain’s High Court in Catalonia and the Constitutional Court.

Lamela believes that Trapero acted in accordance with the members of the so-called “strategic committee” responsible for the political roadmap that led to the declaration of independence. In a parallel case, the Supreme Court is currently investigating 28 key figures of the Catalan pro-independence movement.

The Spanish government dismissed Trapero, after also imposing direct rule in Catalonia in response to the declaration of independence. Ferran López, who took over Trapero’s post, has additionally been summoned to speak as a witness on Friday.

Trapero gained prominence last August after the Mossos successfully arrested and killed the members of the jihadist cell responsible for the terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils that left 16 people dead.