Spanish police enters HQ of several Catalan newspapers

The visits were aimed at notifying them of the TSJC’s order not publish advertisements related to the independence referendum

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1 min
Un agent de la Guàrdia Civil, en una foto d'arxiu

BarcelonaOn Friday afternoon plainclothes Guardia Civil officers paid a visit to the offices of El Punt Avui in Barcelona, plus online dailies Vilaweb, Racó català, El Nacional and Nació Digital. They were there to deliver in person the High Court of Justice of Catalonia’s [or TSJC in Catalan] resolution, addressed to the editor of each media organisation, ordering them to "refrain from publishing, by any means, all propaganda or advertising related to the referendum on 1 October". The warning issued by the High Court went on to say that failure to respect the court order "might incur criminal charges".

The plainclothes officers began by paying a visit to the HQ of El Punt Avui in Barcelona, where they met with its deputy editor for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Nació Digital reported on Twitter that the Guardia Civil had asked some journalists to ID themselves.

Later, the Spanish police officers visited Vilaweb, Racó català and El Nacional. The measures which the TSJC announced yesterday included a decision to order the Civil Guard to verify which media outlets had "printed any kind of government advertising or propaganda" for the referendum on independence.

The court recently warned that, upon receiving the list, it would "immediately" order said organisation to desist from publishing the advertisement and warn them of "the possible responsibilities such actions might incur". This is exactly what happened this Friday.

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