Spanish Police Storm Polling Stations to Block Catalan Vote
- Officers remove ballot boxes from locations in Barcelona
- Catalan government says most polling stations are still open
Catalans Signal They May Declare Independence This Week
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Spanish police in riot gear smashed in the doors of polling stations and dragged protesters away by the hair, beating some with batons and firing rubber bullets at others on Sunday as they tried to shut down an illegal referendum on independence in Catalonia.
Despite the police brutality against largely peaceful demonstrations, voting began in many locations across northeast Spain at 9 a.m. The Catalan government said 73 percent of polling stations were open. Spain’s representative in the region, Enric Millo, said the vote had been “dismantled.”