UN human rights experts have warned the Spanish authorities that their “worrying” efforts to halt Catalonia’s independence referendum appear to violate fundamental individual rights as well as stifle debate “at a critical moment for Spain’s democracy”.The intervention by two specialists working for the UN Human Rights Council comes three days before Catalans are due to vote in a poll declared illegal by both the Spanish government and the country’s constitutional court. In a statement, David Kaye and Alfred de Zayas singled out the recent arrests of 14 Catalan officials, the blocking of referendum websites and the possibility that protest organisers could be charged with sedition.

“Regardless of the lawfulness of the referendum, the Spanish authorities have a responsibility to respect those rights that are essential to democratic societies,” the experts said.  “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.”

David Kaye, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and De Zayas, an independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, also expressed reservations over the Spanish government’s decision to deploy thousands of extra police officers to Catalonia.(theguardian)…[+]