Although at this stage of the dispute between Catalonia and Spain, after first having had news of the 'Operation Catalonia' - the shameful use of officials from the State's security forces manufacturing false evidence against Catalan independentism - and later, the documentary that could be seen on TV3, Spain's Secret Cesspit, produced by Mediapro and directed by Jaume Roures, nothing, or almost nothing, could come as a shock, but for some reason or another, that's not completely true.
The latest episode of the Civil Guard citing, in the last few days, different high-ranking officials of the Presidency and Foreign Affairs, in a carefully staged drip-feed of two people per day so that the news holds enough mediatic interest, has provoked a categorical response from the president of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, and from the Minister of Justice, Carles Mundó, and of legal groups as active as that of Rights. Perhaps even more surprising, is that the TSJC has had to make a public note assuring that the magistrate who brought the case to Court number 13 did not order to cite anyone, and that the Civil Guard was acting alone. The most surprising thing is that in this parade of high-ranking officials there are several who have pointed out that on leaving the rooms where they have been questioned, have also been informed in a loud voice that they would be committing a crime of sedition, which entails a prison sentence, for any action related to the referendum of 1st October.
Beyond the widespread impression that the true objective of the Civil Guard with all these citations and others that will come up is to intimidate civil servants and high-ranking officials in the face of the 1st October referendum, it is clear that it is an overwhelming issue and there is a worry of it becoming a severe political conflict. Among other things, because Court number 13 still maintains confidentiality of the legal proceedings to this day against Santiago Vidal, the former president of the Republican Left (ERC), who resigned from office when statements were made in which he asserted that the Catalan government had fiscal data of the Catalan taxpayers - something that was not true but that the court decided to investigate. This precise case now seems to be converting into a much wider issue judging by the investigations of the Civil Guard and of the news that we keep hearing.
All this, in the middle of great surprise and perplexity, in which one does not know where the decisions of each person start and finish, and nor what the real objectives of the interrogations are. Some people speculate that, in the end, overcoming the origin of the investigation, what is intended is that the case goes to a higher judicial hearing, such as the National Court, which in fact is where a crime of sedition should be heard. We will see if this is the case and if the Spanish government decides to add fines, threats or loss of assets, one degree more to the legal arsenal that it has decided to use to prevent there being ballot boxes on 1st October.