Spain to take control of Catalan institutions

On Friday, Madrid stripped Catalonia of its autonomy and removed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont from office.

The temporary move will see as many as 150 of the region's ministers replaced. Some have vowed to continue to work.

Puigdemont and other Catalan officials may face criminal charges, a move likely to lead to huge protests.

Spain's central government is set to take control of Catalan institutions with Spanish officials expected to be put in place in the region's ministries on Monday.

Madrid has called for the Spanish constitutional court to revoke Catalonia's unilateral vote for independence. Puigdemont and his vice-president Oriol Junqueras say they do not accept the moves by Madrid, adding that they can only be removed from office by the citizens of Catalonia.

If Puigdemont and others refuse to step aside, they face possible arrest and prosecution on charges of rebellion — the maximum sentence for which is 30 years.

About 200,000 civil servants are due to arrive on Monday, but it is not clear how many will stay away or refuse to follow instructions.

The former Catalan Sustainability Minister, Josep Rull, said he was continuing with his "scheduled agenda" and posted an image on Twitter showing him at his desk.

"I'm at the office carrying out the responsibilities that the people [of Catalonia] entrusted to us," he wrote.

However, Madrid has given Catalan ministers hours to pack up their belongings and leave their offices or Catalonia's regional police force, known as Mossos, will "act".

Spain's Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis has said he expects the officers to "act professionally". Spain's chief prosecutor has also been preparing criminal charges against any officials considered to have acted against Spanish law in declaring

independence following a referendum deemed illegal under the Spanish constitution.

Meanwhile, Madrid has called for fresh regional elections on 21 December.

Puigdemont could run in new elections, according to Dastis, but only if the sacked Catalan leader has not been jailed.

On Monday, Dastis said he hoped the forthcoming elections would help to "restore legal governance and rule of law in Catalonia".

"We hope and believe that after these elections, Catalonia will again be the same society it was before: open and integrated," he said during a press briefing in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido has written to all police officers in Catalonia asking for their loyalty as a "new era" begins in the region.

Senior police officers have told the BBC that they have already complied with an order to remove framed photographs of Puigdemont from police stations across the region.

Spain has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since a referendum, organised by Puigdemont's separatist government, was held earlier this month in defiance of a ruling by the constitutional court which had declared it illegal.

Friday saw the regional parliament declare independence.

Meanwhile, Puigdemont has left Spain and travelled to Brussels, Spanish government officials have said.

Puigdemont is facing sedition charges from the Spanish government after Catalonia declared independence under his leadership.

The move comes after Belgium's asylum and migration affairs minister Theo Francken said the former president could seek asylum in the country. The Spanish media reports that the former leader is accompanied by an unspecified number of other members of the Catalan government.