Spain Sent No Notifications About Russian Allegedly Detained in Girona - Russian Embassy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Embassy in Madrid said on Saturday that Spanish authorities had not notified it about a Russian national reportedly detained in the Catalan province of Girona.

"In connection with the information emerged in the country’s media about a Russian national detained in the province of Girona on 4 October, we would like to announce that neither the embassy nor the consulate general had received the relevant notifications from the competent agencies of Spain", the embassy wrote on Twitter.

❗️En relación a la información que ha aparecido en medios de 🇪🇸 sobre la detención en La Junquera (Gerona) de un ciudadano 🇷🇺 informamos que ni a la Embajada, ni al Consulado General en Barcelona no han llegado avisos oficiales correspondientes según el procedimiento establecido. pic.twitter.com/qCH5FoEFyE

— EmbajadaRusaES (@EmbajadaRusaES) November 23, 2019

​Earlier in the day, Spain’s Mundo newspaper reported that a Russian national and a Ukrainian were detained in Girona in October, with an M75 hand grenade seized during a search of their car. The incident is reportedly a part of a probe into the alleged malign influence of Russia in Catalonia.

Moscow has repeatedly refuted allegations of its meddling in other countries' internal affairs, pointing to the lack of proof. The Russian leadership has suggested that the claims of foreign interference are often used to distract people from acute domestic issues.

The pro-independence protests in Catalonia began in mid-October as the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalans to lengthy prison terms over their involvement in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. Hundreds of people have been arrested and injured in the unrest, including police officers.