Josep LluÃs Trapero, the head of the Catalan police is not sent to prison, at least for now. The public prosecutor demanded prison with no bail option. The judge left him at his liberty, but he is requested to hand in his passport meaning he cannot leave the country.
The “Major” was a hero during the terrible terror attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in August, but his fate changed with the recent crisis. Tensions have been mounting ahead of the decision by the judge with helicopters flying above the center of Barcelona.
Trapero is accused of sedition in regards to the events that happened before the referendum of October 1st, deemed illegal by the Spanish constitutional court. The actions of the autonomous police force on September 20th and 21st are questioned. On the 20th, Spain’s national police and the paramilitary Guardia Civil conducted 40 raids on Catalan institutions and other offices in order to stop the preparations for the referendum.
He faced the court in Madrid alongside his colleague Teresa Laplana, which had to pay a bail of 40,000 euros. In addition, Two other high ranking Catalan independence leaders were charged as well: Jordi Sánchez of the ANC and Jordi Cuixart of Òmnium Cultural, also in relation to their roles in the O-1 referendum.
The day has already seen a significant deepening of the crisis. Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont did not directly respond to the ultimatum sent by the Spanish government. Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy demanded that his Catalan counterpart clarify if he declared independence on October 10th. His response was a letter that called for a dialog and a meeting with Rajoy but did not answer the question of the declaration.
The Spanish government’s response was swift: a fresh demand to fully clarify the position of the Catalan government by Thursday morning, as a “last chance”. Failure to react would put the suspension of the Catalan autonomy by invoking Article 155.
Last week, Puigdemont said that Catalonia won the right to independence, but that he is suspending the actual declaration. This vague statement led to the ultimatum.
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