Massive protest against the arrests and the confiscation of 1-O ballots

BarcelonaThe reaction of peaceful protest against the police macro-operation launched today by the State to try to stop the 1-O has not stopped growing throughout the day. What started in the morning as a spontaneous gathering of tens and, later, hundreds of people in front of the headquarters of the Department of Economy, has turned this afternoon into a massive protest of 40,000, according to the count of the Urban Guard, at the intersection of Gran Via and Rambla Catalunya, very close to the department.

The Civil Guard has arrested 15 people –three of whom have been released and are pending summons by the judge as early as this evening– and has confiscated nearly 10 million ballots (9,894,350) within the framework of a macro-operation against the referendum.

The agents have confiscated the ballots for voting in the October 1st referendum during the search of an industrial warehouse in Bigues i Riells, in Barcelona, as confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.

In addition to the printed ballot papers with 'yes' and 'no', the agents have seized a large quantity of electoral material for the 1-O that has not yet been counted: posters with the legend 'polling station', records of numbered voter lists with the inscription 'Catalonia self-determination referendum 2017', scrutiny session records, polling station constitution records, and other forms. The owner of the warehouse, the lawyer Pau Furriol Fornells, is one of those arrested, and another person linked to the printing press, whose name has not transpired, completes the list of those arrested.

According to sources from the Department of Economy, the Secretary General of Economy, Josep Maria Jové, has been arrested in his car on the Ronda Litoral while he was heading to work. Also arrested were the person in charge of electronic voting, J.M. G., and the head of Strategy and Innovation of the Center for Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CTTI), Josuè Sallent. Regarding the former, he is currently in Reus -where he lives- accompanied by the Civil Guard, and it is expected that he will arrive at the headquarters of the Open Administration of Catalonia, where he has his office, in 4 hours. Regarding Sallent, his wife has confirmed his arrest in a tweet.

David Franco and David Palanques, head of development for the information technology area and head of the project technical office of the CTTI department, have also been arrested. Both are personnel hired by the entity that works in all departments.

The Civil Guard has also arrested the director of the Heritage department of the Generalitat, Francesc Sutrias, and Pep Masoliver, from the information and systems area of Fundacio.cat. They searched the home of the former, and the latter was also arrested at his home. In addition, the agents have arrested Mercè Martínez Martos, a technician in the Vice Presidency department, from the financial sustainability area, when she was going to get the car to take her children to high school. According to Efe, Martínez was linked to the company where the ballots were found. It was later learned that they also arrested Natàlia Garriga, director of Services of the Department of Economy.

The advisor to the Department of Governance, Joan Ignasi Sánchez, was being held at his home in Sabadell, and his residence was searched. Nearly 200 people gathered in front of his apartment, where they blocked the path of the Civil Guard. Shortly after, riot police from the Mossos d'Esquadra arrived. The people shouted at them: "Defend the Catalan people." Finally, the Civil Guard took him away under arrest.

The head of the information and communications technology area of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Xavier Puig, has also been arrested. Although it was initially reported that the Director of Services at T-Systems, Rosa Maria Rodríguez Curto, who manages the Generalitat's IT services, had also been arrested, the company assured ARA that they have no "record" of this fact.

The other people arrested or detained during the searches were Secretary of Finance Lluís Salvadó and the head of the information and communications technology area, Xavier Puig, as well as Pau Furriol i Fornell, a lawyer and ERC militant.

The agents appeared at the Generalitat's Department of Economy and several of its offices, such as the Secretariat of Finance, at 639 Gran Via, and the Directorate General of Heritage, at 635 Gran Via. They also reportedly entered the Department of Labor and Social Affairs, a fact confirmed by Minister Dolors Bassa in a tweet. They also appeared at the Department of Governance, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Open Administration of Catalonia (which is located inside the headquarters of the technology company Indra), the CTTI, and the headquarters of the company T-Systems.

The Civil Guard has also entered the Palau Centelles, headquarters of the Institute for Self-Government Studies and the Statutory Guarantee Council of Catalonia. The director of this body is the jurist Carles Viver i Pi-Sunyer, a former magistrate of the Constitutional Court (1992-2001) and president of the Advisory Council for the National Transition.

The Governance press office confirms that there is Civil Guard presence on the seventh floor, where the office of Minister Meritxell Borràs is located. Furthermore, employees of the Department of Economy have confirmed to ARA that the first floor of the ministry has been evacuated, as well as two offices in the electoral processes area, which are being guarded by three Civil Guard agents each. There are also agents on floors 7 and 8 of the building, and communications in the building (Wi-Fi and telephone) have been cut off.

Thus, in total, Barcelona's Court of Instruction number 13 has ordered 41 searches, six of which are in offices located at different official Government headquarters. According to the court, the searches are limited to the offices of the individuals who have the status of being under investigation in the case. The magistrate has also ordered searches of three companies in Barcelona, non-official professional offices, and private homes. The case is open for the crimes of disobedience, prevarication, and embezzlement, with about twenty people under investigation.

The President of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, stated this noon that "this aggression is outside of legal protection": "The Spanish government has 'de facto' suspended the self-government of Catalonia". "The Spanish government has crossed the red line that separated it from anti-democratic regimes", he lamented, but insisted: "On the 1st we will leave home with a ballot and we will use it".

For her part, Carme Forcadell has said that the police actions represent "the suspension of the autonomy of Catalonia" and that "we are facing the application of a 'de facto' state of emergency". She has condemned the actions that "criminalize and obstruct" citizens from voting. She has reviewed the police and judicial operations against the referendum and has addressed the Spanish government with the following words: "Is this the only response that you can offer to the will to vote?"

Government sources consulted by ARA believe that the macro-operation is full of irregularities. The main one would be, they state, that the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) should have already assumed the investigation, given that there are people with parliamentary immunity involved. Instead, the case remains in the hands of Barcelona's Court of Instruction number 13, which is the one that initiated the investigation following the Vidal case. The Government considers that the judge, Juan Antonio Ramírez, known for having handled cases such as the graffiti against the king, should have recused himself in this case in favor of the TSJC, "which offers more guarantees to Catalan officials".

The Vice President of the Generalitat, Oriol Junqueras, has condemned the action at Catalunya Ràdio: "This is one more demonstration that there is a true police state: we are in an absolutely exceptional situation and outside of any democratic guarantee".

"The people will defend their institutions"

Thousands of citizens have gathered on the Rambla de Catalunya with signs demanding "democracy". This has become the most massive demonstration, although there are also gatherings in other parts of Barcelona. With them are Joan Tardà, Jordi Cuixart (Òmnium), and Jordi Sànchez (ANC) as well. People are shouting "Democracy" and "This is a coup d'état". Tardà has described the operation as an "attack on democracy", but has called for calmness: "Let us not fall into any provocation, they want to make us derail, but we must remain firm in the defense of civil rights".

The Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Families, Dolors Bassa, has arrived at the department's headquarters where a search is taking place, amid applause from the workers. She has assured that the Government "continues to work with the same firmness" to make the referendum possible. After a brief statement to the media, she left a carnation on one of the Civil Guard's cars.

"This people will defend its institutions", assured the spokesperson for the National Pact for the Referendum, Joan Ignasi Elena, on the Rambla: "We have been, we are, and we will continue to be, despite the aggressions, a single people that wants to decide". The Secretary General of the UGT, Camil Ros, has called for the "immediate freedom" of those detained this morning "disproportionately", while Anna Gabriel (CUP) has called for peaceful resistance and not falling into provocations. "We hope that the ballot boxes win and not the coup d'état", she adds.

Members of Workers' Commissions (CCOO) have also gathered in front of the Foreign Affairs headquarters to "defend the institutions", they have blocked Via Laietana and joined the multitude of people protesting. At a certain point, the Civil Guard loaded a car with material extracted from the department, but the protesters positioned themselves around the car to prevent the vehicle from leaving.

Furthermore, students blocked the Diagonal for nearly 45 minutes, although traffic has already been restored. According to the university students, the SEPC entered the classes and called for people to take to the streets against the arrests. Tomorrow they have called for a demonstration at 12:00 PM. A protest gathering has also been organized in Plaça Sant Jaume.

Total state intervention

In parallel to this information, the Spanish government has carried out the total intervention of Catalan finances. The Generalitat has already received the notification signed directly by the Minister of Finance, Cristóbal Montoro, in which he communicates that he is withdrawing the management of some 4.5 billion euros of the budget that the Catalan government had planned to spend for the remainder of the fiscal year on "non-essential" services. The President of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, has urgently summoned the leaders of the PSOE and Ciudadanos to Moncloa, in light of the latest events in Catalonia.

Furthermore, a large commercial ship from the Italian shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci has been docked since this morning at the Lepant pier in Barcelona. The port received an official letter from the Spanish government yesterday informing them that it is a "state ship," but without specifying the purpose for which it has moored at the port. It is the 'Rhapsody' vessel, which has a capacity for 2,448 passengers and features services such as a restaurant, swimming pool, or meeting room. As ARA has learned, the ship is scheduled to stay in Barcelona until October 3rd and, in addition, a second ship will still arrive at the port of Barcelona this very afternoon. The vessel is, in this case, from the shipping company Trasmediterránea, the same sources point out.

In Tarragona, the State has ordered the port to allow a cruise ship with a capacity for 800 people to dock. It could serve to house police officers, although the reason for the request is officially unknown. It is a commercial vessel like the one that has already docked in Barcelona with a capacity for more than 2,000 people. The one in Tarragona is the 'GNV Azzurra' vessel, and it is also owned by the Italian shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci.

The Ministry of the Interior and the general directorates of the Civil Guard and the National Police have suspended the leave and vacations of all agents stationed in Catalonia between September 20 and October 5. The objective is to "guarantee compliance with the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the illegal referendum in Catalonia." Specifically, they have issued an instruction that modifies the regime of vacations, leave, licenses, and staff schedules, and agents will not be able to request them. The instruction could be extended beyond October 5 "if circumstances advise it."

Added to this is the fact that, this noon, National Police agents tried to enter the CUP headquarters in Barcelona, on Casp street, but were unable to because the people who were inside the premises saw through the security video camera that those knocking on the door were police agents and lowered the shutters. The protest gathering has also been growing and becoming massive.

It should also be noted that the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) has denounced that law offices have been searched and that, therefore, the right to defense has been violated. This, according to the ICAB, "violates the right to professional secrecy of lawyers," since the searches have been carried out in an "indiscriminate" manner and have affected the personal data protection "of any client." Furthermore, it has recalled that the Statute of the Legal Profession has been breached because the dean of the Barcelona Bar Association was not informed of the searches.

Rajoy says they have done "what they had to do"

Rajoy has assured Congress that they have "done what they had to do" and what was their "obligation" in order to maintain the rule of law, and has insisted that the pro-independence parties "destroyed the Constitution" in Parliament two weeks ago. "You destroyed the Constitution, with the PSOE when you reformed Article 135 in one night," he said in response to an interpellation from Gabriel Rufián.

The deputies of the PDECat and ERC have left the Congress of Deputies, where a plenary session was being held, in protest against the searches. Before leaving, Gabriel Rufián said to the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy: "Get your dirty hands off the Catalan institutions". "At this moment they are arresting elected Catalan officials simply for their ideas", he lamented. "Know that for every person you arrest there are 100 who are willing to respect the unequivocally popular mandate. It is a struggle not for national rights, but for the civil rights of all", he declared.

Subsequently, Rufián traveled to Barcelona to attend the protest in front of the Generalitat's Department of Economy. "You are worthy heirs of your grandparents and your parents," he shouted with a megaphone to the protesters: "We do not only fight for the right to decide in the Catalan Countries, we fight for the civil rights of all the peoples of the State. When they tell you that the problem is only the PP, remember that it is also the PSOE, Cs and the Constitutional Court".

The En Comú Podem deputies in Congress: "We ask all Catalan citizens for absolute serenity, firmness to respond to the attacks we are suffering as citizens and as a country", said Xavier Domènech in a subsequent appearance. The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has asked Rajoy "to rectify, to stop this repressive drift and to return self-government". "If he thinks that with this strategy we will be afraid, it is the other way around; we will take to the streets more united".

The deputy mayor of Barcelona Jaume Asens has denounced that the large-scale police operation means "the application of article 155 in an unprecedented attack on the self-government of Catalonia". Asens has stated: "They are treating us like a colony that must be occupied". After making it clear that "Barcelona City Council stands with the Generalitat and the people of Catalonia", the leader of Catalunya En Comú has announced that they have called on their membership to join the demonstrations.

Despite this escalation of tensions, however, the Spanish government has not changed a single comma of its discourse. The government spokesperson, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, addressed the media at noon from Congress and accused the president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, of "seeking through street protests the legitimacy he does not have".

For her part, the leader of Citizens in Catalonia, Inés Arrimadas, has assured Catalunya Ràdio that "it is normal for justice to act", and has defended that her party is providing "a way out" politically for the current situation: "This will be solved with ballot boxes, but real ballot boxes", in reference to the calling of regional elections to seek a new government that Citizens defends". "What is happening in Catalonia is very serious", added Arrimadas, who knew nothing about the operation: "Obviously not, they don't call me before making an arrest. I had no knowledge of it".

Former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar has also made statements and has called on the Spanish government for a firm stance against the October 1st referendum. "One cannot deal with coup plotters and secessionists," Aznar stated in an interview with the international news channel NTN24, based in the United States.

The mayors refuse to testify regarding the provision of polling stations for October 1st

Of the 17 mayors who were summoned this Wednesday by the prosecutor's office for having provided premises for the 1-O, 16 have appeared and refused to testify, while the remaining one, the mayor of Sabadell, Maties Serracant, did not show up for the summons.

The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has given the AMI and the ACM 48 hours to remove from their websites the content regarding the preparation and holding of the referendum. If not, it threatens to forcibly remove the content or shut down the websites. These are the precautionary measures for the lawsuit.