Spanish police seize 100,000 referendum posters

Armed military Spanish police today raided several print-shops in Catalonia searching for referendum material: and they found it. At least 100,000 posters are seized after a dramatic day in Catalonia in which officers also entered several newsrooms. Editors are being warned that they will face criminal charges if they publish referendum ads in their papers or on their websites.

Political events in cities in Catalonia but also elsewhere, including in the Basque country and Madrid, are being suspended by judges. And the big campaign event celebrated yesterday to kick off the referendum campaign, which attracted 9,000 people, is now formally investigated by the Prosecutor.

Mayors are now getting summoned to court for openly supporting the vote, and they have been threatened with arrests if they fail to comply. The efforts to stop the vote have also gone digital: another website relating to the referendum has been shut down by police. Earlier this week, the actual referendum website was also shut down, although the Catalan government quickly opened a new one.

But despite all of this, international observers from a dozen different countries keep registering to supervise the October 1 vote. And a group of members of the Danish parliament send today a letter to the Spanish government expressing their "deep concern" for the latest "repression actions" and urging dialogue.