At least nine people have been arrested in Barcelona province in a police operation against radical Catalan separatists who were allegedly planning acts of violence ahead of the second anniversary of the unauthorized independence referendum of October 1, 2017.
The Monday raid targeted the violent wing of the Committees to Defend the Republic (CDR), a network of grassroots activists who have made headlines in the past through public acts of protest. In April 2018, the CDR tampered with toll plazas in Catalonia, raising barriers to let vehicles through for free.
The detainees are part of the self-described Technical Response Team, viewed as the most violent faction of the CDR, according to sources familiar with the case. The suspects had purchased materials that could be used to make explosives, and had tested out home-made bombs at a house in an isolated location, said the same sources.
Investigators say they have acted against what could be the beginnings of a new terrorist group in Spain
Investigators say they have acted against what could be the beginnings of a new terrorist group in Spain, which endured six decades of violence by the Basque terror group ETA, which was formally dissolved last year.
The Barcelona arrests come shortly before Spain’s Supreme Court hands down a widely anticipated decision on the fate of Catalan separatist leaders who were tried earlier this year for rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds in connection with the unilateral secession attempt of 2017.
Civil Guard officers raided homes and commercial premises in the cities of Barcelona, Sabadell and Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, where they seized material that could be used to make explosives, computer equipment and documents.
The operation, which began at 5am, was launched by an investigating judge at Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional.
English version by Susana Urra.
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