Junts registers the investigation commissions on the Catalonia operation and the 2017 Barcelona attack without ERC

Those from Puigdemont agreed with PSOE to take advantage of these investigative commissions to collect cases of 'lawfare' in the amnesty

The Junts parliamentary group has registered this Friday in Congress with the PNV, and without the signature of ERC or the PSOE, the investigation commissions that they agreed in August with the socialists, in exchange for the vote of the independentists for Francina Armengol: a to "know the truth" about the jihadist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils in August 2017 and another about spying on pro-independence politicians with the 'Pegasus' program.

When Congress was formed, the PSOE reached agreements with ERC and Junts to, among other measures, allow the use of co-official languages, provide deputies to be able to form a parliamentary group despite not achieving the requirements established in the regulations, and create those two commissions of inquiry. In exchange, the independentistas would vote for Armengol and thus give the PSOE and Sumar control of the Lower House Table.

Of these conditions, the creation of these investigative commissions had yet to materialize and Junts has decided to register them this Friday, obtaining the signature of the PNV, instead of seeking a common text with ERC or the PSOE.

The commission on the Islamist attacks of 2017, committed when Carles Puigdemont presided over the Generalitat, seeks to "know the truth" and clarify "political responsibilities" of any kind. Those from Junts have echoed on numerous occasions the news that suggests that one of the accused, Abdelbaki es-Satty, imam of Ripoll, was a confidant of the National Intelligence Center (CNI).

Retired commissioner José Manuel Villarejo is one of those who has encouraged this conspiracy theory, ensuring that the CNI did not want to provoke the attacks in which 16 people died, but he suspects that there was a "miscalculation", since, according to his version, they wanted to create a "fictitious command" to give a "scare" to Catalonia and after the death of the imam in the Alcanar explosion things got "out of control."

The other investigation commission refers to the so-called 'operation Catalonia', the actions attributed to the Ministry of the Interior in the Governments of Mariano Rajoy to launch false information against pro-independence politicians in order to try to discredit them.

Congress has already investigated the so-called 'sewers' of the Interior several times during the PP stage, both in 2017 for 'operation Catalunya' and in the last legislature when it opened investigations into 'operation Kitchen' regarding espionage against the former treasurer of the PP. PP Luis Bárcenas.

In that first investigation of 'Operation Catalonia' it was concluded, despite the vote against the PP, that, in effect, a police structure was created destined, among other things, to "persecute" political adversaries such as leaders of the Catalan independence movement.

AN OPERATION ALREADY INVESTIGATED

Specifically mentioned was "the creation and work carried out by the BARC" (Brigade for Analysis and Review of Cases) against the PSOE, the false account in Switzerland of Xavier Trías, or the so-called "PISA Report" against Podemos on alleged economic activities of Pablo Iglesias.

In the conclusions, Rajoy's Prime Minister of the Interior, Jorge Fernández Díaz, as well as the former Director General of the Police Ignacio Cosidó and the former Deputy Director of Operations (DAO) of the Police Eugenio Pino, were condemned as politically responsible for the "partisan" use. of this department.

But the independentists insisted in 2022 calling for another commission of inquiry into the 'Catalonia operation', initially focused on the alleged interference with the sovereignty of the Principality of Andorra by Spanish political leaders, but which the PSOE wanted to divert more towards the 'Kitchen' case. ', despite the fact that it had already been investigated.

However, the vetoes crossed between parties to call witnesses led to only time being given to former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo. In May, the commission declined with the dissolution of the Cortes due to the early call of the general elections.

FIRST STEP OF THE 'LAWFARE' THAT IRRITATED JUDGES

In the agreement signed by PSOE and Junts for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, there is talk of taking advantage of the new promised investigation commissions to deepen the amnesty for pro-independence supporters prosecuted over the last ten years. Carles Puigdemont's people want what Congress decides to serve to demonstrate the alleged 'lawfare' and thus review other causes that affect coreligionists.

Precisely that mention of 'lawfare' in the agreement between the PSOE and Junts stirred up the main judicial associations and the General Council of the Judiciary, who interpreted that Congress was going to supervise the actions of the courts.