Spanish riot police fired rubber bullets and forced their way into activist-held polling stations in Catalonia on Sunday as thousands turned out to vote in an independence referendum banned by Madrid.
Barcelona’s mayor said at least 460 people were injured as police cracked down on what the Spanish central government branded a “farce”.
The violence further heightened tensions between Madrid and the authorities in Catalonia in the worst political crisis the country has witnessed in decades.
Police officers prevented people from voting, and seized ballot papers at polling stations.
“Spanish democracy faces its greatest challenge,” headlined top-selling El Pais daily just hours before police moved in en masse to seal off polling stations and seize ballot boxes, sparking scuffles as they sought to block the vote.
In the second such vote in three years, more than 5.3 million people were called on to have their say on independence from Spain in the wealthy northeastern region which has its own distinct language and culture.
The referendum poses the question: “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”
One voter, Júlia Graell, told the BBC “police started to kick people, young and old.” “Today, I have seen the worst actions that a government can do to the people of its own country.”
Riot police also stormed a polling station near Girona, smashing the doors of the sports centre where Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was to vote.
