Spanish police start a wave of violence against peaceful Catalan voters

A group of Spanish police officers charged at 8:40 am this morning against dozens of people who were in custody at the IES Jaume Balmes school polling station in Barcelona in order to vote in the referendum on Catalan independence.

A man fainted in the Nostra Llar de Sabadell school. There have been charges of the Spanish National Police.Photo: CRISTINA CALDERER.

A man was injured by the Spanish police in the IES Jaume Balmes polling station. He said that he was “beaten with a baton, punched, and Riot Police units kicked him several times.”

Several ambulances arrived at the polling station after the violent charges by the Spanish police.

Spanish forces brutality leaves 844 injured, some of them in serious condition, and an eye injury caused by a rubber ball. The national police and civil guard were taking effort to stop the voting, seizing ballot boxes and voting papers.

People facing Spanish security forces in Barcelona — Catalans facing Spanish National Police at the Institut Ramon Llull in Barcelona. Photo: PERE VIRGILI

Also, about 40 people, including helpless elderly people, were injured in Sant Carles de La Ràpita beaten by Spanish state police. Also, Spanish Riot police fired rubber bullets at crowd in Barcelona and other cities.

A 70-year-old man is in critical condition due a heart attack, during a assault by Spanish security forces. Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra and Firefighters also confronted Guardia Civil Spanish paramilitary police. Examples of brutality by Spanish Riot police include mass pushing people stairs down, and a young girl voting inside a polling station said Spanish police broke the fingers of her right hand one by one and was sexually assaulted.

A small group of Spanish far-right protesters invaded the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) scenario in Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona, flying Spanish flags. Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra scorted them outside the square to avoid violent confrontations.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange urged President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker to Suspend Spain’s EU membership over police violence in Catalonia.

#Catalonia: Every person arrested takes 1-3 police for processing. Will Catalans deal with the attack on their polling stations by having themselves peacefully arrested? Students alone are ~750k. Civil Guard + National Police just 15k. It seems easy to exhaust capacity.

— Julian Assange 🔹 (@JulianAssange) September 29, 2017

The Government of Catalonia has set a referendum on Catalan independence for today October 1. Spanish Government deployed some 15,000 police officers in a attempt to prevent Catalan independence vote.

Catalonia is critical contributor to Spain’s economy, and Spain loses 20% of its economy if Catalonia splits. In the scenario of Catalan independence from Spain, Spain will lose lose some 246.4 billion euros a 20% of its GDP.

According to the authorities of Catalonia, voter turnout at the Catalan independence referendum amounts to over 50% at 3:00 PM local time.