The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called this Thursday for Spain to "respect [the] fundamental rights" of Catalans in their response to the imminent referendum. In a note published this lunchtime, they have shared a report from two of their experts, David Kaye and Alfred de Zayas, notes the repression the Spanish state has carried out in Catalonia to avoid the referendum taking place.
The experts, who have been in contact with the Spanish government, call on Spanish authorities to ensure the "measures taken" in response to the 1st October vote "do not interfere with the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, and public participation".
"The measures we are witnessing are worrying because they appear to violate fundamental individual rights, cutting off public information and the possibility of debate at a critical moment for Spain’s democracy," they say.
They also warn that sending more 4000 agents of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard and the "accompanying rhetoric" could increase tensions and social unease in Catalonia. That said, the experts urge "all parties" to exercise maximum restraint and ensure the protests remain peaceful.
"Regardless of the lawfulness of the referendum, the Spanish authorities have a responsibility to respect those rights that are essential to democratic societies," the expert report is quoted as saying.
Protests, searches and charges of sedition
The statement goes over events in Catalonia since the Constitutional Court declared the referendum illegal on 6th September. "Since the ruling, hundreds of thousands of Catalans have taken to the streets in protests", the report continues, saying that tensions have increased with the searches of print houses and the confiscation of election material.
They also mention the blocking of websites and banning of political meetings related to the referendum. "Politicians have been arrested, and leaders of the mass protests have been charged with sedition, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment", they say, referring to Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, leaders respectively of pro-independence organisations the Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural.