Court allows Operation Catalunya evidence and police witnesses in Pujol trial

The court overseeing the Pujol case said at the resumption of the trial that it will allow discussion of the so‑called "Operation Catalunya" in forthcoming sessions. The proceedings, which involve several members of the former Catalan president's family including the ex‑president himself, will include material from the Andorran strand of investigations after judges at Spain's National Court (Audiencia Nacional) rejected transferring the case to the Barcelona court.

Magistrates accepted that the defence teams — notably the lawyers for the Pujol family, who are also involved in a separate case against former prime minister Mariano Rajoy and others being investigated by Andorra's investigating court (Batllia) for an alleged attack on Andorran sovereignty — may refer to and submit documents from the Andorran proceedings. The judges said those documents may be presented during the trial if the defence deems them relevant.

The court also admitted witness testimony from five figures linked to the alleged "patriotic police" network who are implicated, in varying degrees, in the Andorran investigation into events that preceded the intervention and later collapse of Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA). The officials, most of them retired, expected to appear include José Manuel Villarejo — who recently gave testimony in Andorra — Eugenio Pino, identified as a former operational director of the national police, and Marcelino Martín Blas, a retired commissioner and former head of the internal affairs department.

Also expected to be called are Bonifacio Díez Sevillano, known as "Boni," a former inspector and interior attaché at the Spanish embassy in Andorra, and Celestino Barroso, who succeeded him and, as an active diplomat, has so far tried to avoid appearing. The court noted there is a recorded audio of Barroso that conveys a threat to a former BPA CEO, Joan Pau Miquel, who could also be summoned as a witness.

The inclusion of these police figures and the possibility of annexing documentary material linked to Operation Catalunya’s actions in Andorra may strengthen the defence contention that BPA was targeted as part of a wider political and police scheme. Defence teams argue that the bank was victimized by maneuvers aimed at undermining the rise of Catalan independence and at gaining access to accounts of Catalan political leaders; the court's decision will allow those arguments and related evidence to be aired during the trial.