The interior minister accuses Puigdemont of “inappropriate behavior”

Acting Interior Minister Joan Ignasi Elena assured on Friday that the Mossos d’Esquadra were not “such inappropriate behavior” Whose it had been the highest authority of Catalonia, referring to the flight of former President Carles Puigdemont, and has accused the Junts of “not having a state mentality” and “trying blow up a plenary session for the investiture”“We were not prepared for such inappropriate behavior; no one was prepared,” he stressed.

Elena appeared next to the general manager of the PolicePere Ferrer, and the chief commissioner of Mossos d’EsquadraEduard Sallent, and was attended by, among others, Prefectural Commissioner Rosa Bosch and other commanders of the armed forces.

After the appearance of Carles Puigdemont, three police officers were arrested, accused of being involved in the escape of the former president of the Generalitat. The first of them was released that same Thursday, hours after he was detained. The second, however, was released that Friday. Finally, the third was free on Saturday.

The councillor, with a markedly political tone, has made an assessment of the ‘dimensioned’ apparatus which, as he specified, had three objectives: to arrest a person who had been the highest authority in Catalonia, to guarantee the celebration of the plenary session of the inauguration, and to contain the mobilisations that had been announced were ‘antagonistic’ (one mentioned by Junts and pro-independence associations and another by Vox). Elena has admitted that one of the objectives of the apparatus has not been achieved, regarding the arrest of Puigdemont, and has announced a research to “conduct an analysis of how it worked and what failed.”

For his part, the Chief Commissioner of Mossos d’EsquadraEduard Sallent has recounted how events have unfolded since Puigdemont’s return. As he stressed, it was his duty as a police force to arrest the former president, although they believed that the arrest should be carried out ‘in the most suitable placeaccording to the principle of proportionality“However, he has denied any connection with the former president’s entourage, as some media outlets claim:”We don’t agree on anything“.

Sallent has admitted that the events took place “contrary to what was expected” and has warned that “we were not the only ones who we didn’t see it comingAccording to him, Puigdemont entered surrounded by “the second authority in this country” (the president of parliament, Josep Rull) and “several former presidents”, who had the will to “make his arrest difficult”. quick “entry” and a four-minute speech, he assured that Puigdemont left the stage “very quickly”. It was at that moment that the police tried to make an “approach” to continue with his arrest, which was prevented by “a mass of people”. people” – he said. mentioned that there were 4,500 people. In addition, he revealed that the organization of the event had set up a kind of tent, “closed with zips”, to protect the leader of the Junts. Later, he explained that Puigdemont, accompanied by Jordi Turull, got into a vehicle, which they chased and lost sight of on the ring road of Barcelona.

The ANC condemns the police actions

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has reported the police action to the Ministry of the Interior which took place on Thursday at the entrance door of the Ciutadella, after the appearance of Carles Puigdemont and during the plenary session of Parliament. In the letter submitted, the entity considers that there was a police intervention “disproportionate”.

And according to the ANC version, the Mossos were launched pepper spray to the demonstrators during the meeting, without any violent situation occurring.

For all these reasons, the Catalan National Assembly has requested that “An investigation into the facts will be opened and responsibilities will be determined”.

They continue to search for Puigdemont

At this point the chief commissioner insisted that the Mossos thought Puigdemont ‘I was planning to take political actiongiven that He is not a Jodorovich, nor someone involved in organized crimeand we expected him to do what he said: to exercise his right to vote.

When asked if they can confirm that the former president is outside Catalonia, Sallent replied that this is not the case “no objective element” to confirm that Puigdemont is already outside the state, since they do not give “credit” to the “false information” of the people who accompanied him in his escape. “Until we have proof that this is beyond our control, we will continue to search for him to comply with the arrest warrant.”

Regarding the two detained police officers accused of helping Puigdemont escape, the chief commissioner has considered their action “reprehensible, unacceptable and an insult to the body”: “They do not deserve to wear our uniform,” he concluded.

Finally, the general director of the police, Pere Ferrer, acknowledged that yesterday was “very hard and undeserved” for the Mossos, and although he acknowledged that it is legitimate to denounce non-compliance with the amnesty law, this cannot be done “weakening, hurting and damaging the credibility” of the police.