The Operation Anubis was a police operation in Catalonia, Spain, initiated on 20 September 2017 by the Civil Guard following orders of the trial court number 13 of Barcelona, directed by judge Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer. Its aim was to dismantle the framework of the Catalan independence referendum of 1 October 2017, that was suspended on 6 September 2017 by the Constitutional Court of Spain as breaching the 1978 Constitution. Different headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya were searched and 14 people were arrested, including high ranking administrative staff, and company CEO's involved in the preparation of the referendum. Simultaneously, several printing and media companies were searched looking for ballot papers and boxes. More than 140 websites were shut down by the Spanish justice and police.
A banner with the sentence Welcome to the Catalan republic was hung on the facade of the Catalan economic department.
Crowd in front of the Department of Economy after the arrests.
Demonstration in front of the Department of Economy in Barcelona
Demonstration in Berga
The Civil Guard is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. The role of the Ministry of Defence is limited except in times of war when the Ministry has exclusive authority. The corps is colloquially known as the benemérita. In annual surveys, it generally ranks as the national institution most valued by Spaniards, closely followed by other law enforcement agencies and the armed forces.
First ever photograph taken of a Guardia Civil, somewhere between 1855 and 1857 in Reinosa, Spain.
Column of Guardias Civiles during the 1934 Asturian Revolution, Brañosera
The Spanish Civil Guard patrol ship Rio Segura moored in Dakar, Senegal, during the counternarcotics and proliferation exercise Saharan Express on March 8, 2014.
Guardia Civil's CASA CN235 surveillance aircraft