de los cobos

Minister sacked Guardia Civil leaders after police report linking Covid-19 spread to government permitting Women's Day rally

Testimony from top Spanish official in charge of operation to prevent illegal vote criticizes Mossos leadership in run-up to independence bid

Four agents say riot police head gave order to charge at voters, while top officials said no one gave a specific instruction

Mossos d’Esquadra are on the spotlight for their role during the 2017 independence referendum

Ferran López due to testify on Wednesday as more officers will continue to take to the stand in the Supreme Court

Diego Pérez de los Cobos says Catalan law enforcement head designed plan that "would not prevent" vote

Miquel Buch accuses Spanish officials of aiming to "smear" Mossos d'Esquadra in their independence trial testimony

He is expected to be questioned over his role in the Spanish police crackdown on the referendum in 2017.

Juan Antonio Puigserver will be followed by Diego Pérez de los Cobos, former Spanish Guardia Civil police head

Official in charge of security operation during independence referendum criticizes Catalan police in Supreme Court  

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) one of the legal bodies responsible for suspending the most initiatives aimed at executing Catalonia’s pro-independence roadmap in the last few years, replaced its president this Wednesday. Francisco Pérez de los Cobos stepped down after nearly four years in office and took the opportunity to call for “political dialogue” . He defended Spain’s unity but admitted that the Spanish Constitution “can’t tackle all the problems derived from the constitutional order, especially those which emerge from the desire of one part of the state to alter its legal status”.  In the presence of the Spanish Minister for Justice, Rafael Català and the four magistrates which took office this Wednesday, Pérez de los Cobos emphasized that dialogue is an “urgent and unavoidable necessity”.

Catalonia "won't get anything" from a reform of the Spanish Constitution, on the contrary, "it will lead to frustration" assured current Catalan President, Artur Mas. "It is nonsense to suggest that Catalonia burns itself to flames by promoting a reform of the Spanish Constitution" as it will lead "to a dead end once again", assured Mas. He made these statements in response to the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) President, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, who urged the Parliament to propose concrete modifications of the Spanish Constitution in order to launch their demands rather than doing so by breaking the law. "We know that the Parliament has the right to propose constitutional reforms" stated Mas "but now it is not about rights, it is about politics, real politics" he assured. Mas made these declarations in Paris, where he was attending the Paris Climate Change Conference.

Spain’s Constitutional Court has ruled against the Catalan Parliament’s Law on Consultation Votes, approved in September, and the President of the Catalan Government’s Decree calling for a consultation vote on independence on 9 November last. The Constitutional Court had already temporarily suspended both legal measures in October, but it still was yet to issue its definitive verdict. After the temporary suspension, the Catalan Government promoted an alternative and symbolic vote on independence run by 40,000 volunteers, also on 9 November, in which 2.35 million people participated despite the Spanish authorities’ full opposition and even threats. The Catalan President, Artur Mas, stated that the Constitutional Court’s final decision “leaves 27 September [early elections] as the only way to consult the Catalan people” about their collective future. Meanwhile, the Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, highlighted that the Court’s decision “has been adopted unanimously” and that “governments have to honour laws”.