Ten key phrases in the statement of Joaquim Forn

During the Catalan independence trial, Joaquim Forn denied ever having given any instructions to allow the 1 October referendum to the Catalan police. The former minister of the Interior, for whom the State Attorney General's Office is asking for 16 years in prison  on the charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, downplayed the legal value of the declaration of independence of 27 October.

Here are the ten key moments of his questioning:

The Catalan police and 1-O

"They never received political orders from me to hold the referendum. There are no political instructions from the Catalan minister of the Interior, nor from the president of the Catalan government, nor from any member of the Catalan government asking people to fail to carry out the tasks entrusted to them as judicial police to adhere to a political decision adopted by the Catalan government with the support of the Catalan parliament."

 

"I agree with promoting and launching this referendum, but I do not use the mechanisms of the Department of the Interior for this purpose."

 

"As in all actions, those of the Catalan police were imperfect, but the actions announced on 21 September, which were announced to the magistrate and had only been criticised by coordinator Pérez de los Cobos, were carried out, and there was under no circumstances a request to modify them."

 

"To prioritise the safety of police forces and citizens above efficiency and to preserve peaceful coexistence. This is an order issued by the Secretary of State after having been informed of the interlocutory ruling of the magistrate of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia.

 

"Therefore, if anyone acted wrongly, from my point of view, it was the Guardia Civil and the national police, which failed to follow the line established by the Secretary of State."

Violence on 1-O

"If you wish to deduce that there was generalised violence, I disagree. There was violence in some points and, in my opinion, due to mistaken actions from some law enforcement forces."

 

"We had a tense discussion [with Enric Millo], in which I requested something very specific from him, namely that they should put a stop to such actions because they were giving rise to a significant problem of violence."

 

The declaration of independence

"It was not published, neither in the Official Bulletin of the Catalan Government nor in the Bulletin of Parliament (...) there was no resolution nor any other administrative action to this end [notifying chancellor's offices or notifying the Spanish government of the decision]."

 

The events of 20 S

"To say that the Court Clerk had to leave through the rooftop is whimsical. We sought out a safe alternative for her."

 

We had no information on the fact that actions were to be carried out on over 19 or 20 points, or the fact that such inspections would be carried out without notifying us. Indeed, if we are responsible for public order, it would have been easier to be aware of it, and it might have saved us a few problems."

 

Seeking out dialogue

"We persisted in the possibility of dialogue, of agreement, of looking for common ground and a political solution to this situation until the last moment."

 

 Related interactive resource: The keys of the Catalan independence trial