Spanish Civil Guard Detain Another Pro-Independence Activist

The Spanish Civil Guard detained Tamara Carrasco Tuesday in Catalonia in an operation targeting pro-independence protests against the detention and prosecution of Catalan leaders who have been charged with rebellion, and could face up to 30 years in prison.

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On the same day, members of the Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra arrested six people over protests outside the Catalan Parliament on Jan. 30, investiture day. The operations are not directly related but pro-independence parties, Popular Unity Candidacy, the Republican Left of Catalonia, and the Catalan European Democratic Party have condemned the detentions calling them judicial persecution and have called for demonstrations.    

Carrasco, and an unknown man who has avoided arrest, have been accused of rebellion and terrorism by judge Manuel García-Castelló who argued they have “continued the Puigdemont government strategy”.

The woman detained is accused of leading the Committees for the Defense of the Catalan Republic, a grassroots movement organizing demonstrations and roadblocks to protest against the Spanish state, and was transferred directly to Madrid by order of the national court.  

According to the Court, the woman detained “would have carried out management and coordination activities in the sabotage during Easter in 2018 in a coordinated way denominated CDR (Committees in Defense of the Republic) conceived to bring about a climate of social agitation."

She is considered a “coordinator” due to audio messages shared through social media, in which she explained the actions planned to protest the incarceration of pro-independence leaders. 

Authorities have failed to provide details on the charge, however, the roadblocks organized by the Committees have been described as sabotage.

The Committees have been under investigation by the Spanish Civil Guard and the national police since the Oct. 1 independence referendum in Catalonia, in which the vote for independence won. 

The modern Catalan uprising stems from the Spanish constitutional court ruling in 2010 undoing the regional government’s aspiration for more autonomy, and deeming it unconstitutional after gaining more autonomy in 2006 through the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia.

The statute was challenged by governing party Popular Party, which is also behind the violent crackdown of Catalan protesters following the independence referendum.