Spanish embassy denies declaring state of emergency in Catalonia

CAIRO – 21 September 2017: The Spanish embassy in Cairo denied Thursday false news published in some media outlets about declaring a state of emergency in Catalonia and suspending the region's autonomy.

The embassy denied in a statement the false news concerning legal actions and procedures which were taken Wednesday in Barcelona, confirming that a state of emergency was not declared in the region.

In addition, the embassy explained that citizens of the region enjoy their full constitutional rights, including their right to hold protests, highlighting the fact that a number of protests were held across different cities of the region as proof that citizens enjoy their full rights.

The statement pointed out that Spanish security forces did not intervene in any way to disperse or harass the protesters.

Furthermore, the embassy underlined that inspections of some government facilities in the region and the arrest of some individuals were carried out in accordance with a court order in Barcelona, according to the statement.

However, the embassy explained that the only activities which were suspended were the preparations for holding what it called an "Unconstitutional referendum" in accordance with the constitutional court ruling that stated the referendum's unconstitutionality.