International observers: “We saw numerous and repeated violations of civil and human rights”

The head of the International Election Expert Research Team, Helena Catt, said that the Catalan referendum process "should be respected". In a preliminary statement from the experts about what they saw on Sunday in Catalonia, she regretted the attempts by Spanish riot police to stop the vote violently. "We saw numerous and repeated violations of civil and human rights," she said.

"It was a centrally orchestrated, military-style operation carefully planned. We are stunned that armed masked officers entered polling stations with the purposes of preventing a peaceful democratic process," the preliminary statement read. "Despite the issues, and other difficulties people experienced trying to vote, I want to emphasize that we did see a day of voting yesterday."