Operation Anubis
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The Operation Anubis was a police operation in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, initiated on 20 September 2017 by the
Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...
following orders of the trial court number 13 of
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, directed by judge Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer. Its aim was to dismantle the framework of the Catalan independence referendum of 1 October 2017, that was suspended on 6 September 2017 by the
Constitutional Court of Spain The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...
as breaching the 1978 Constitution. Different headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya were searched and 14 people were arrested, including high ranking administrative staff, and company CEO's involved in the preparation of the referendum. Simultaneously, several printing and media companies were searched looking for ballot papers and boxes. More than 140 websites were shut down by the Spanish justice and police. Crowds gathered around Catalan regional ministries to support those arrested and protest against the searches. About 40,000 demonstrators surrounded the Catalan economy department heeding a call made by pro-independence groups
Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...
and
ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...
. One vehicle of the Civil Guard was damaged. The autonomous
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
force of
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, Mossos d'Esquadra, recognized that there was a risk situation.
Jordi Sànchez Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron sa ...
and
Jordi Cuixart Jordi Cuixart i Navarro (born 22 April 1975) is a Spanish businessman and cultural activist from Catalonia. He was the president of Òmnium Cultural, a non-profit cultural organisation founded in 1961 with more than 190,000 members and 52 local b ...
—leaders of ANC and Òmnium Cultural— and the Mossos d'Esquadra Major
Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez ( Badalona, 1965) is the current Mossos d'Esquadra Major, the highest rank in the Catalan Police. On 28 October 2017, the Spanish government declared him removed from his post, after its invocation of Article 155 ...
have been accused of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
, a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
regulated by the article 544 and subsequents of the
Spanish Criminal Code The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...
, for allegedly encouraging protesters to hinder the Spanish police raids to dismantle the framework of the referendum. On 16 October 2017, Sànchez and Cuixart were provisionally put into jail without bail pending the investigation. On 14 October 2019, the Spanish Supreme Court condemned Sànchez and Cuixart to a nine-year sentence after considering them guilty of sedition.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
believes their detention and sentence constitutes a disproportionate restriction on his rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, and urges Spain to free them.


Background

The investigation started due a complaint presented by the
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
political party Vox and an anonymous complainant, in response to a claim from Catalan judge and politician Santiago Vidal assuring that preparations for the referendum were underway. The investigation was assigned to the trial court number 13 of
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, which had a conservative judge, Ramírez Sunyer, close to the
General Council of the Judiciary The General Council of the Judiciary ( es, Consejo General del Poder Judicial, CGPJ) is the national council of the judiciary of Spain. It is the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, as it is ...
. According to the defense, the assignment was against the rules and was done arbitrarily to get a hard anti-independence judge to investigate the case. On 9 September, Spanish Civil Guard raided the headquarters of the weekly newspaper ''El Vallenc'' for being allegedly linked to the preparation of the independence referendum, about 200 people gathered in front of the building to support the journalists being investigated. On the same day, the Civil Guard also raided the printing office ''Indugraf Offset'' in Constantí searching for ballots and material related to the Catalan referendum. Over 45,000 notifications for the polling station members were confiscated on 19 September by the Civil Guard after raiding the offices of the posting service ''Unipost''. Hundreds of protesters practiced
nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...
sitting in front of the offices in order to block the access, delaying the action of the judicial committee for hours.


20 September

Following a judge's orders, on the morning of 20 September 2017 several units of the Spanish Civil Guard raided 41 locations, including: the headquarters of the Vice President of Catalonia, the regional ministries of economy, foreign affairs, social affairs and family, the tax agency of Catalonia, the consortium of open administration of Catalonia, the Catalan Institute of Finance, the dotCAT Foundation, private houses of Catalan government officials and one printing company. Spanish officers claimed to have seized 9.6 million
ballot papers A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...
in the raids. During these raids the Spanish Civil Guard arrested 14 people, most of them high-ranking members from the
Generalitat of Catalonia The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label=Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed b ...
, but also CEOs of private companies or just administrative staff. After hours of watching it, officers of the National Police Corps circled the headquarters of the Popular Unity Candidacy party (CUP) at 1:00pm, in Casp street, Barcelona, but were prevented from searching inside by party members and supporters due to not having a court order. The party made several calls to the citizenship to "''go to protect our headquarters''" and organized a
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
protest in order to block Spanish police access to their offices which gathered thousands of people. The police deployment lasted eight hours until they finally left without searching the building or arresting anyone. David Fernàndez, member of CUP, defined the intend to enter their headquarters without a court order as a "''flagrant crime against fundamental, civil and political rights''". On the same day, the Spanish government announced that they were sending two ships to Barcelona and one to Tarragona to allocate Spanish police reinforcements deployed from other places of Spain. The first ship to arrive in Barcelona was the ''Rhapsody'', from an Italian shipping company, followed by the ''MS Moby Dada'', also Italian. The ship that docked in Tarragona was named ''GNV Azzurra''. The three ships had a capacity of 6,600. Days later, these reinforcements tried to prevent the referendum on independence, injuring ove
900 voters
and panic scenes that were broadcast on news stations worldwide.


Protests

As the searches began, crowds spontaneously gathered outside the buildings being raided by the Spanish Civil Guard; namely the headquarters of the Department of Economy, in
Rambla Catalunya Rambla de Catalunya (; es, Rambla de Cataluña) is a major street in the ''Eixample'' district of central Barcelona. It is one of the city's trendiest streets, with many international fashion shops, and is lined with lime trees. The street st ...
, and the Department of External Affairs, in
Via Laietana Via Laietana () Vía Layetana in Spanish, is a major thoroughfare in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the Ciutat Vella district. The avenue runs from Plaça Urquinaona to Plaça d'Antonio López, by the seafront, and separates the neighbourhoods ...
. Some minutes later,
Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...
and
ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...
called for a mobilization to avoid demonstrators being prosecuted given that Spanish Citizen's Security Law sets very high penalties for unauthorized demonstrations. Civil pro-independence organizations called for "peaceful resistance" in front of some of the buildings being searched. The Mayor of Barcelona
Ada Colau Ada Colau Ballano (; ; born 3 March 1974) is a Spanish activist and politician who is the current Mayor of Barcelona. On 13 June 2015 she was elected Mayor of Barcelona, the first woman to hold the office, as part of the citizen municipalist pla ...
also called all citizens to take the streets in protest for the raids. Soon after people started gathering in front of the Economy Department, crowds forced the closure of the Gran Via. According to several sources, at some moment there were more than 40,000 people in the demonstration in front of the Catalan economy department. In the afternoon, various volunteers offered food and water to demonstrators. Several concerts were held in the junction between
Rambla de Catalunya Rambla de Catalunya (; es, Rambla de Cataluña) is a major street in the ''Eixample'' district of central Barcelona. It is one of the city's trendiest streets, with many international fashion shops, and is lined with lime trees. The street st ...
and Gran Via, like Companyia Elèctrica Dharma and Judit Neddermann as well as ''
castell A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community. At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...
s''. Even though the police operations were not notified in advance to the autonomous police force of Catalonia, Mossos d'Esquadra, as soon as people started gathering around the Catalan economy department, Civil Guard requested the intervention of Mossos. The Civil Guard agents involved in the raid made 6 calls for help to Mossos during the day. The first request for help was at 9:14 am with the subject: "Urgent - Request for support to Mossos" with the goal to force people to move 40 meters away from the building. Mossos did not intervene alleging that might cause public disorders and that the demonstration was being peaceful and authorized. Instead, ANC volunteers created a human corridor so the access to the building would not get blocked. Workers of the Department of Economy hung Catalan and
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
flags in the balconies of the building as long as the raid lasted. Mossos alleged they were not notified in advance about the raids, so they couldn't prepare a police operation to keep demonstrators far from the building. At midday, the Civil Guard notified Mossos they would end the registries around 20.15, but later stated they would be delayed for hours due to computer problems. Mossos considered there was a situation of risk, but discarded using crowd-controls units until later in the night when most demonstrators already left. According to the
court clerk A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...
, she remained trapped until midnight inside the building and had to flee by the roof terrace, while several agents were trapped throughout the night as demonstrators shouted outside "''You won't get out!''" and "''
They shall not pass In Modern English, ''they'' is a third-person pronoun relating to a grammatical subject. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''they'' has five distinct word forms: * ''they'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''them'': the accusati ...
''". The solution to leave through the roof terrace of the neighbouring building was proposed by Mossos after the court clerk rejected to use the human corridor created by the police. Civil Guard stayed inside the building until the demonstration was called off and Mossos cleared the zone, so they could get access to the three cars that were parked in front of the Catalan economy department. Those cars were damaged by journalists in the morning and later vandalized up by demonstrators. According to the Civil Guard, the damages in the vehicles (3 Nissan Patrol) accounted for 135,632 €. Civil Guard officers left unguarded weapons and ammunition inside the cars, which were left with the doors unlocked and were later surrounded by demonstrators. The Mossos were not informed that the cars contained weapons until the afternoon, at that point, the Mossos used a helicopter to verify that no demonstrator entered inside the cars. Eventually, the leaders of ANC and Òmnium, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, were notified there were weapons inside the cars too. At that point, ANC volunteers expanded the human corridor and left the cars inside the corridor, so demonstrators had no access to them. An investigation from the newspaper ''El Món'' in 2019, reported that none of the Civil Guard officers that left unguarded weapons inside the cars was sanctioned by the
Spanish Ministry of the Interior The Ministry of the Interior (MIR) is a department of the Government of Spain responsible for public security, the protection of the constitutional rights, the command of the law enforcement agencies, national security, immigration affairs, ...
.
Jordi Sànchez Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron sa ...
and
Jordi Cuixart Jordi Cuixart i Navarro (born 22 April 1975) is a Spanish businessman and cultural activist from Catalonia. He was the president of Òmnium Cultural, a non-profit cultural organisation founded in 1961 with more than 190,000 members and 52 local b ...
—leaders of ANC and Òmnium Cultural— and the Mossos d'Esquadra Major Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez have been accused of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
, a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
regulated by the article 544 and subsequents of the
Spanish Criminal Code The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...
, for allegedly encouraging protesters to hinder the Spanish police raids to dismantle the framework of the referendum. Sànchez and Cuixart have been provisionally put into jail without bail pending the investigation. Besides the demonstration in Barcelona, multiple protests took place in other cities across Catalonia; including cacerolazo during the night. Several Spanish cities also organised demonstrations against the police operations. In
Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
, Barcelona an audience at the representation of Il Viaggio a Reims sang the Catalan anthem, Els Segadors, and shouted pro-Catalan independence slogans.


Reactions

Dozens of Catalan organizations and entities condemned the jailing of Catalan officials and made calls to respect "''democracy and freedom of speech''" in Catalonia and asked all citizens to "''defend Catalan institutions''". Those entities included all Catalan public universities ( UB, UAB, UdG, UPF, UdL, URV, UPC, UOC), the biggest Catalan workers and students unions including
CCOO The Workers' Commissions ( es, Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) since the 1970s has become the largest trade union in Spain. It has more than one million members, and is the most successful union in labor elections, competing with the Unión General de ...
and UGT, sport clubs like
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...
and
Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, it plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 Segunda División play-offs. Girona holds its home matches at ...
, more than 20 professional associations, the Confederation of Neighborhood Associations of Catalonia, NGO's like FundiPau, music festivals like Primavera Sound and cultural organizations like
Fundació Antoni Tàpies The Fundació Antoni Tàpies (, 'Antoni Tàpies Foundation') is a cultural center and museum, located in Carrer d'Aragó, in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is dedicated mainly to the life and works of the painter Antoni Tàpies. The Fundació was crea ...
. Carles Puigdemont, President of Catalonia, described the raids as a "''de facto suspension of Catalonia's self-rule''".
Ada Colau Ada Colau Ballano (; ; born 3 March 1974) is a Spanish activist and politician who is the current Mayor of Barcelona. On 13 June 2015 she was elected Mayor of Barcelona, the first woman to hold the office, as part of the citizen municipalist pla ...
, Mayor of Barcelona, called the raids "''a democratic scandal''".
Xavier Domènech Xavier Domenech i Sampere (born 1974, Sabadell), is a Spanish historian, activist and member of Procés Constituent. He led the En Comú Podem (Together We Can) electoral ticket that stood in Catalonia at the Spanish General Elections on 20 Dece ...
, from
En Comú Podem En Comú Podem ( en, "In Common We Can", ECP) is an electoral coalition in Catalonia, originally formed in October 2015 by Unidas Podemos, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens, United and Alternative Left, and Equo, and led by the ...
expressed "''all red lines have been crossed''". Pablo Iglesias, leader of Spanish Podemos, defined the arrested officials as "''political prisoners''".
Dimitrios Papadimoulis Dimitrios Papadimoulis ( el, Δημήτρης Παπαδημούλης, Dimítris Papadimoúlis; born 21 March 1955) is a Greek politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as a member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left. O ...
MEP considered the situation was a "''very worrying drift''" for Spain.
Mónica Oltra Mónica Oltra Jarque () is a Spanish left-wing politician, and the ex-vice president, ex-spokesperson and ex-minister for Equality and Inclusive Policies of the Valencian government. Born in Germany to a Spanish immigrants family, she returned ...
, co-spokesperson of Valencian Compromís, defined it as "''forbidding acts of freedom of expression''". That day,
En Comú Podem En Comú Podem ( en, "In Common We Can", ECP) is an electoral coalition in Catalonia, originally formed in October 2015 by Unidas Podemos, Barcelona en Comú, Initiative for Catalonia Greens, United and Alternative Left, and Equo, and led by the ...
, ERC and PDeCAT walked out from Spanish Congress as a protest against the police operation. File:Manifestation in favor of the right to decide in Catalonia.jpg, Demonstration in front of the Department of Economy in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
File:20S Berga1.jpg, Demonstration in
Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga derives its name from ...
File:Mani 20S València (5).jpg, Demonstration in València


21 September

On 21 September 2017, the President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, publicly announced on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
the referendum information webpage had been re-uploaded and gave polling station information and directions. The previous webpage shut down six days after launching, after being declared illegal in court. The
Catalan National Assembly The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, which ...
and
Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...
organised a demonstration in Passeig de Lluís Companys in front of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia calling for the release of those, while carrying signs reading "Stop dictatorship" and "We want to vote". During the demonstrations several politicians and
public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and s ...
s spoke and asked the people to continue in permanent mobilisation to defend the institutions of Catalonia. On the same day, the
stevedores A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
and dockworkers of the Port of Barcelona and Port of Tarragona refused to work for the ships that housed the Spanish police after a trade union vote that morning. University students in some areas abandoned their classes and disrupted traffic on Avinguda Diagonal and joined demonstrations in front of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia. In a separate protest by students traffic on Gran Via, at the old building of the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
, was disrupted. In front of the headquarters of the Spanish Civil Guard in Passeig de Gràcia a demonstration of 150 people shouted slogans in favour of the police operation, in favour of remaining unified with Spain, or against the independence referendum. During the demonstration there were clashes with the Mossos d'Esquadra when the protesters tried to stop the traffic. An open letter from several members of all parties in the UK parliament expressed their concern "by the measures taken by the Spanish government to prevent the referendum". An additional open letter from over a hundred academics of law, human rights and related subjects from the UK and Ireland expressed the same level of concern about the fact "that the level of political repression in Catalonia is of a severity and arbitrary character not experienced since the Franco dictatorship". The
Regional Council of Sardinia The Regional Council of Sardinia (''Consiglio Regionale della Sardegna'') is the legislative assembly of the autonomous region of Sardinia. The assembly was elected for the first time in 1949. Composition Following the modification of the reg ...
also unanimously approved a motion on 21 September 2017 expressing solidarity with Catalonia and offering to print and store the necessary ballots for the referendum while asking the international community to intervene and ensure that Catalans could vote and decide on their self-determination.


22 September

On Friday 22 September, Spanish State Attorney General's office filed a complaint for
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
against the leaders of
Catalan National Assembly The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, which ...
and
Òmnium Cultural Òmnium Cultural () is a Catalan association based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was originally created in the 1960s to promote the Catalan language and spread Catalan culture. Over the years it has increased its involvement in broader political is ...
,
Jordi Sànchez Jordi () is the Catalan form of the ancient Greek name Georgios. Jordi is a popular name in Catalonia and is also given in the Netherlands and in Spanish-, English- and German-speaking countries. Jordi may also refer to: *Sant Jordi – patron sa ...
and
Jordi Cuixart Jordi Cuixart i Navarro (born 22 April 1975) is a Spanish businessman and cultural activist from Catalonia. He was the president of Òmnium Cultural, a non-profit cultural organisation founded in 1961 with more than 190,000 members and 52 local b ...
, accused of having played central roles in orchestrating massive protests aimed at hindering Civil Guard activity. This offence can be punished with sentences of up to 15 years of prison. The investigating judge stated that the leaders did not call for "peaceful demonstration but to the protection of Catalan officials through 'massive citizens' mobilisations" and that Jordi Sànchez, on top of a vehicle, encouraged the demonstrators with expressions such as "no one goes home, it will be a long and intense night". According to the judge the actions of Sànchez and Cruixat are within the scope of sedition, a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
regulated by the article 544 and subsequents of the
Spanish Criminal Code The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...
: Footage from that night shows Cuixart and Sànchez at 11pm calling off the protests, contradicting the part where the judicial order imprisoning them says that "they did not use at any time the control they had over the people to call off the demonstration they had summoned". Pro-referendum students from the
University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...
occupied the historical building of the university, which is currently used by the faculties of mathematics and philology. In Girona, Tarragona and Lleida there were more student demonstrations in defence of democracy organised by the local Universities. Later that day, the trial court number 13 finally released all the remaining politicians arrested on 20 September 2017. They were freed being charged with disobedience to the Constitutional Court, perverting the course of justice and
embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
of public funds but were not accused of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
. Even though they were released, due to a public prosecutor petition, they will have to appear before the court every week while the probe continues. Around 2,000 people were waiting outside and received them with slogans and chants. At 6pm a new demonstration in front of the High Court of Justice was organised to celebrate their release.


Digital censorship

In the days previous to the referendum, more than 140 websites were shut down by the Spanish justice and police, including the official one from the Catalan government with information about the referendum and dozens of clones made after the first one was blocked. The main site of the biggest civil organization which supports independence,
Assemblea Nacional Catalana The Assemblea Nacional Catalana ("Catalan National Assembly"; ANC by its Catalan acronym) is an organization that seeks the political independence of Catalonia from Spain. It also promotes the independence of other Catalan-speaking regions, whic ...
, was also blocked. In some cases, only a judiciary request was sent but in some others Guardia Civil was sent to major Spanish telecom operators offices, domain providers, the dotCat Foundation and Google, in this particular case to remove an app from Google Play which included information about the polling stations. This situation was defined as "censorship" by many and was denounced by Internet-related organizations from around the world including Internet Society, APC,
EFF EFF or eff may refer to: Politics * Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African communist political party * Economic Freedom Fund, an American political organization * Election Fighting Fund, a British suffragist organization supporting the ear ...
,
The Tor Project The Tor Project, Inc. is a Seattle-based 501(c)(3) research-education nonprofit organization founded by computer scientists Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson and five others. The Tor Project is primarily responsible for maintaining software for ...
and
Xnet Xnet (former eXgae) is a non-profit activist platform that develops and promotes alternative models for cultural dissemination and royalty management and work in different fields related to digital rights, networked democracy and freedom of expr ...
.


Accusations of sedition

Finally, on October 16 both Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez were imprisoned accused of sedition and sent to Soto del Real Prison. Both Mossos d'Esquadra Major
Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez Josep Lluís Trapero Álvarez ( Badalona, 1965) is the current Mossos d'Esquadra Major, the highest rank in the Catalan Police. On 28 October 2017, the Spanish government declared him removed from his post, after its invocation of Article 155 ...
and Barcelona
Intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...
Teresa Laplana Cocera were also charged with sedition because of the role played by the regional police.


Reactions

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
issued an official statement considering the charge of sedition and the preventive imprisonment "''excessive''" and called for their immediate release. On 7 March 2018, the High Commissioner of the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...
reminded Spanish authorities that "''pre-trial detention should be considered a measure of last resort''" in reference, between others, to Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez. In July 2018, several international personalities including Jody Williams,
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
, Angela Davis,
Ben Emmerson Michael Benedict Emmerson CBE KC (born 30 August 1963) is a British barrister, specialising in public international law, human rights and humanitarian law, and international criminal law. From 2011 to 2017, he was the UN Special Rapporteur o ...
, Bill Shipsey and
Martín Caparrós Martín Caparrós (born May 29, 1957) is an Argentine writer and social commentator. His father was Antonio Caparrós, a renowned psychiatrist. Caparrós began professional writing at age sixteen. His first professional job in journalism was wi ...
joined in a video produced by Òmnium and demanded the release of the Catalan leaders. On 8 August 2018, PEN International made another statement asking Spanish authorities to release Cuixart and Sànchez and considered their detentions to be "a''n excessive and disproportionate restriction on their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly''". The World Organisation Against Torture sent an open letter to the President of the Government of Spain
Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...
as well as the Spanish Attorney General and Spanish Ombudsman on 22 November 2018 demanding the end of the "''arbitrary pre-trial detention and judicial harassment of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez''" and concluded "''OMCT considers that the charges against them are unfounded and must therefore be dropped.''" After Sànchez and Cuixart were sentenced to a nine-year sentence, Amnesty International reiterated his petition to immediately release them and denounced that the "vague" and "overly broad" interpretation of sedition done by the Spanish Supreme Court could have negative effects on the freedom of protest in Spain.


See also

*
2014 Catalan self-determination referendum A non-binding Catalan self-determination referendum, also known as the Citizen Participation Process on the Political Future of Catalonia, was held on Sunday, 9 November 2014, to gauge support on the political future of Catalonia. While also ref ...
* Declaration of the Initiation of the Process of Independence of Catalonia * National Day for Yes


References


External links


Article on BBC: Catalonia referendum: Spain steps up raids to halt vote
{{Catalan nationalism 2017 in Catalonia 2017 protests Catalan independence movement Politics of Catalonia Protests in Spain September 2017 events in Spain October 2017 events in Spain Articles containing video clips