The Congress will investigate the illegal actions of the police against the independence movement in the case of Rajoy
A new parliamentary investigation into the illegal actions perpetrated by the police under Mariano Rajoy’s government is set to be launched. The investigation will look into the police’s efforts to manufacture evidence against Catalan independence leaders, a series of acts also known as Operation Catalonia. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos have expressed support for taking on the investigation.
The commission would be tasked to investigate the demands made by Rajoy’s government to BPA to share information on the accounts of family members of Jordi Pujol, former president of the Generalitat. Furthermore, it requests an investigation into the “patriotic police” network set up under former minister of the Interior, Fernández Díaz, which became tasked with implicating independence leaders in corruption, under false pretences.
This is not the first time Rajoy’s Ministry of the Interior has been investigated. Operation Kitchen was a police plot aimed at destroying evidence of illegal financing of the People’s Party (PP) under ex-treasurer Luis Bárcenas The findings of the commission accused Fernández Díaz of having created Operation Kitchen to halt an investigation of corruption scandals within the PP.
PSOE had initially opposed a new commission but reversed its view when PSOE spokesman, Héctor Gómez shared the party’s desire to investigate the PP’s use of the police to intimidate opponents under Operation Catalonia. Gómez referenced the audios published by El Pais and leaked by former Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, in which Fernández Díaz and Villarejo spoke about denouncing independence leaders with false information, even though Fernandez had sat before the commission and denied having ever interacted with Viillarejo. This makes Fernández Díaz guilty of committing perjury.
The leading Spanish PP has strongly opposed the commission, categorising it as a sign of desperation from the PSOE following electoral disappointment.
This article is adapted from an article originally published in El Pais on 28 June 2022.