Barcelona mayor tells European counterparts that rights of Catalans are “under threat”

The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, told her counterparts in Europe that the rights of the Catalan citizens are “under threat” after Spain’s actions to stop the referendum. Colau sent a letter to some thirty mayors of major European cities, such as Paris, Rome, London, Brussels, Athens and Lisbon.

She said that she is “concerned” about the current situation in Catalonia. For her, the events in the past few days are “unprecedented”. “I am alarmed at the repressive response from the Spanish government to stop the October 1 referendum,” said Colau. According to her, the current situation is “serious”, and she mentions a number of actions to prevent citizens from voting on Sunday, including arrests, website closures, massive police deployment, and “intimidations” of school staff.