Spain's Attorney General, José Manuel Maza, has announced today the presentation of another lawsuit against the president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, and the other members of the Catalan government for signing the decree officially calling the Catalan independence referendum for 1st October.

In a press conference, Maza called for the police to investigate "any action taken relating to the referendum".

This follows proceedings announced yesterday against the members of the Catalan Parliament's Board for allowing the processing of the bill which allowed for the referendum to be called.

This will be the first action from the Public Prosecutors' Office against Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and a large number of the members of the Catalan executive (the Governance minister, Meritxell Borràs, has already received one for putting the purchase of ballot boxes out to tender), the second against the representatives from Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes) on the Board and the third against the president of the Parliament, Carme Forcadell.

The complaints will be presented "soon" to the Supreme Court of Justice of Catalonia.

Alongside Maza were the chief prosecutor of the support unit, Francisco Bru; the deputy attorney of the Supreme Court, Luis Navajas; the chief prosecutor of Inspection, Fausto Cartagena, and the chief prosecutor of the Technical Secretary, José Miguel de la Rosa.

Catalan prosecutors will investigate actions for holding referendum

José Manuel Maza also gave instructions to the Catalan Public Prosecutors' Offices for them to, with the help of the different police forces, investigate any actions related to the holding of the referendum in Catalonia to see if they constitute crimes of disobedience, perversion of justice or misuse of public funds "at least".

Maza made these announcements during a brief appearance without questions at the seat of Spain's Public Prosecutors' Office. He also said that he had given "the appropriate orders" for the judicial police "to take over the resources and instruments destined for the preparation or holding of the illegal referendum".

Judicial police, Civil Guard, National Police and Catalan police

To follow the acts linked to the referendum, the prosecutors will, Maza said, count on the support of "the judicial police, the Civil Guard, the National Police and the Mossos [Catalan police]". As for the instructions to confiscate the resources to be used in the vote, he specified that this would be carried out by the judicial police.

"The prosecutors of the National Audience, before the Constitutional Court and the Court of Accounts, and the Catalan prosecutors, will continue acting with resolve, proportionality, swiftness and with full reference to the law to guarantee our framework of constitutional coexistence," he finished.