Judge asks Spanish authorities to provide information on Villarejo’s trips to set up Operation Catalonia
The judge wants to know the role of the superintendent: when he worked as a civil servant and when as an "undercover agent"
BarcelonaJudge Arturo Zamarriego asked the Spanish police force, which reports to the Interior Ministry, to provide information about the "official trips" that civil servants José Manuel Villarejo and Marcelino Martín Blas took to Catalonia between 2012 and 2014. As reported by eldiario.es —and confirmed by Europa Press—, the investigating judge number 2 for Madrid also wants them to provide "the length and details" for all those trips, which presumably were intended to set up the so-called Operation Catalonia, devised to undermine the Catalan pro-independence process.
In this way, Zamarriego forges ahead with the judicial investigation around the "Nicolay case", an offshoot of the "little Nicolás" case. The judge has had the cooperation of the former head of the Police’s Internal Affairs Division, Marcelino Martín Blas, and his right hand man, Detective Rubén López, to make the decision. Zamarriego's decision, however, is opposed by prosecutor Alfonso San Román, who believes that these two police officers have overstepped their responsibilities.
The judge also asked for details about Villarejo's duties and responsibilities. He wants to know when he worked as a civil servant and when he worked as an "undercover agent". That is, the role he played in Operation Catalonia. Zamarriego also believes that Villarejo maintains a wide network of companies in the private security business which he used in the service of the State.
Contradictory versions from Villarejo and Blas
The judge's decision comes after the differences between Villarejo's and Martín Blas' statements have transpired. On July 6th, Villarejo stated that he worked "intensely" with Martín Blas in connection with the probe into Catalan pro-independence politicians. Blas' version was completely different and he claimed that they had met no more than four times.
Shortly after that, Villarejo's attorney assured that those trips had “no political bias". The recording of his testimony on July 6th, which eldiario.es had access to, shows that he mentioned specific politicians' names. Specifically, he said: "I investigated the Pujol family and he [referring to Martín Blas] was in charge of finding sources, such as the man in the recordings with the Minister", in reference to Daniel de Alfonso, former director of the Catalan Antifraud Office, who was caught on tape plotting with Spain’s Interior Minister.
The two superintendents' versions also differed on the definition of their personal relationship. Villarejo explained that their differences began in 2012 as a result of "Operation Emperor" against the Chinese mafia. At one point during the investigation, Villarejo reprimanded Martín Blas for investigating fellow police officers behind the judge's back. But Blas reacted by “putting pressure” on him and, according to Villarejo, it was for this reason that Bas included Villarejo’s son in the list of detainees.
