Operation Garzón ( Catalan: ''Operació Garzón'', Spanish: ''Operación Garzón'') was a police operation which saw the arrest of 45 Catalan pro-independence individuals and the search of the headquarters of Catalan newspapers and pro-independence organizations in 1992, prior to the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

held in Barcelona,

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

's capital city. Over 30 people were arrested between 29 June and 14 July 1992, including two journalists, the mayor of

Ribera d'Urgellet Ribera d'Urgellet () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Urgell in Catalonia, Spain. It includes a small exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An encla ...

and activists in the

Catalan independence movement The Catalan independence movement (; ; ) is a Social movement, social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Ca ...

, and more were arrested some days later. The arrested were claimed to be members of the armed Catalan pro-independence organisation

Terra Lliure Terra Lliure (, "Free Land"), sometimes referred to as TLL, was a far-left, Marxist-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Catalan nationalism, separatist paramilitary group active in Catalonia, Spain. Formed in 1978, the group carried out hundreds of att ...

, often with no real proof besides their involvement in the pro-independence movement. Even though Terra Lliure had already announced its dissolution the previous year, the Operation was carried out under the official reason of preventing a possible attack during the 1992 Summer Olympics. However, those who were arrested believe it was done to scare Catalan independentists from using the widely followed event as a platform for their political movement. The operation is named after the Spanish judge

Baltasar Garzón Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a Spanish former judge in Spain's central criminal court, the '' Audiencia Nacional'' responsible for investigation the most serious criminal cases, including terrorism, organised crime, crimes ...

, who was its main director. In 1995, 25 of the detainees were tried and, of these, 18 were convicted of belonging to Terra Lliure using the confession many of them had allegedly been forced to memorize during torture, when the police threatened them and their families if they did not declare this. 17 of the detainees alleged that they had been tortured, but judge Baltazar Garzón refused to investigate it despite the bruises in the detainees' bodies. This ended up in the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

in 2004 which condemned the Spanish State for refusing to investigate the torture allegations. Political activists argue that the Spanish State used the Operation Garzón as a tool, under the pretext of security during the Olympic Games, to weaken the left-wing branch of Catalan independence movement.

Torture testimony

Garzón ordered that 25 of the arrested be kept in solitary confinement. 17 out of these 25 said that they had suffered

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

at the hands of the Spanish police as well as threats of

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

to them and their families, Catalanophobic insults, and at least one of them reached the point of attempting

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

References

{{Catalan nationalism Police brutality in Europe 1992 Summer Olympics 1992 in Catalonia Catalan independence movement Anti-Catalanism