Spain takes control of Catalan police
The Spanish government is taking control of the Catalan police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra. The Catalan police command will therefore be controlled from Madrid, and not Barcelona. The decision implies stripping the Catalan government of its policing powers. The prosecutor has ordered that the Catalan police, the Spanish National Police and Spain's Guardia Civil be managed from the Ministry of Home Affairs in Madrid. The decision, according to the prosecution, aims at "reinforcing the operation to prevent crime and to keep public order" a week before the October 1 independence referendum.
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On Wednesday, Spain's Guardia Civil arrested 15 people over the referendum. 13 of them were high-ranking Catalan government officials. They were released, in some cases after 48 hours in custody, and charged with misappropriation of funds, breach of official duty and disobedience.
Source: http://catalannews.com/news/item/spa...catalan-police
This long running conflict and wish for independence seems to escalate rapidly. I wonder what will happen when serious protests will errupt.