Israeli MK observing Catalonia vote shocked by Spain’s use of force

1 October 2017, 3:11 pm

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A Zionist Union MK observing Catalonia’s independence referendum says she was shocked by the use of rubber bullets by Spanish police against crowds of unarmed protesters.

Ksenia Svetlova says the bullets used “can squash somebody’s head.” She says she she saw people bleeding and injured on the scene, and that she hadn’t expected to see such tactics used in Europe.

“We did expect a normal democratic process. We knew that a lot of police were here but still, you know, there should be a respect for the will of the people to vote regardless of what you think of the referendum,” Svetlova says.

Svetlova says she was part of a delegation of about 30 people from other countries invited by Catalan regional officials to see the voting process.

— with AP