Spain’s Guardia Civil questions Generalitat staff over expat registry, Pact for the Referendum website
Employees of the marketing agency that devised the campaign to increase registration in census and the company that designed the Pact website have also been summoned
BarcelonaThis morning Spanish Guardia Civil (1) questioned Generalitat staff at their barracks on Travessera de Gràcia in connection with the Catalan government’s advertising campaign to encourage registration in the census of Catalan expats, and about the website of the National Pact for the Referendum. At this point they appear to have finished taking all statements.
In total, Guardia Civil officers questioned a half dozen people. Catalan government sources told ARA that these included one employee from the Department of the Presidency (from the Dissemination area) —who was asked about the census of Catalans living abroad— and the manager of the Catalan government’s social networks, also in the Department of the Presidency, who was questioned about the website of the National Pact for the Referendum.
Initially, the Ministry headed by Neus Munté was in charge of this website, but it was later managed by the Pact [a Catalan non-government group who aimed to promote the idea of a referendum on independence]. As to the employees of private companies, apparently the officers questioned three staff of the company that was in charge of the website of the National Pact and the marketing agency that devised the advertising campaign for the Catalan expat census.
"The Guardia Civil can freely decide who to question"
The Catalan government doesn't know what investigation this falls under, but on March 24 the Attorney General of Catalonia announced inquiries into whether the Generalitat was preparing an independence referendum, following several news stories and the announcement published in the press of the aforementioned census of Catalans living abroad.
The AG opened an inquiry into possible crimes of disobedience, neglect of duty, and misuse of public funds, as these referendum preparations could be "in direct violation of the decisions handed down by the TC (the Spanish Constitutional Court)". The Prosecutor alluded directly to the ad published in various newspapers by the Catalan administration to encourage Catalan expats to join the registry.
However, other sources suggested that the questioning could be in connection with the case against former judge Santi Vidal, who is being investigated by court number 13 in Barcelona. Details of this case haven’t been disclosed.
The TSJC has explained to ARA, however, that "the judge has not ordered any questioning", noting that "the Guardia Civil can freely decide who to question" and that, as judicial police for this case, they could be conducting their own investigation.
When approached by this newspaper, the Guardia Civil stated that they work "following orders from judges and prosecutors in many cases", but would not specify anything more.
If the interrogations fall within the bounds of the inquiry into the Vidal case, the investigation must have been expanded into other areas aside from what Vidal said --he initially stated that the Catalan government had illegally collected tax data on Catalans. He made no mention of the expat census or of the National Pact for referendum.
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Translator’s notes:
(1) The Guardia Civil is a Spanish military corps which does ordinary police work across Spain, as well as in Catalonia.
