Spanish police enter Catalan government HQ in independence referendum investigation

Spain’s Guardia Civil police have entered the Catalan government headquarters and the Labor, Foreign Action, Presidency, and General Intervention ministries to ask for information as part of a judicial investigation into the 2017 independence referendum.

The visits were ordered by the Barcelona regional court currently prosecuting 30 people for offences such as disobedience and misuse of public funds for their role in Catalonia’s push for independence.

While Spain’s Supreme Court is trying the most senior politicians and activists involved in the independence case—including former ministers of then-president Carles Puigdemont—the regional court is prosecuting officials charged with lesser offences.

According to government sources, Spanish police are not raiding their HQ, but asking for information: “We’re giving them the information they require, just like we’ve always done.”