A woman dragged out of a polling station in Barcelona by police broke down in tears today as she claimed they had broken her fingers ‘one by one’ and sexually assaulted her while they laughed.
Marta Torrecillas was filmed being violently removed from a school in the city’s upmarket Eixample area as Catalonia voted for independence yesterday.
The clip, captured at Paul Claris School, showed her being manhandled as she tried to walk past officers in full body armour on a day when footage of police brutality sparked outrage around the world.
Her dress was forced up around her thighs – leaving her exposed and humiliated – as she was dragged down towards the exit. She later claimed officers had touched her breasts and broken her fingers ‘deliberately, one by one’.
The footage emerged as Spain braced for its biggest political crisis in decades after Catalan officials claimed 90% of 2.2million voters had called for independence in the ‘illegal’ vote yesterday.
Catalonia’s government will hold a Cabinet meeting today, to discuss asking the regional parliament to vote on an independence declaration later in the week.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, meanwhile, will meet with ruling Popular Party leaders before seeking a parliamentary session to discuss how to confront the country’s most serious crisis in decades. He also called an afternoon meeting with the leader of the main opposition Socialist party to discuss Spain’s options.
A Catalan voter dragged out of a polling station in Barcelona by police broke down in tears today as she claimed they had broken her fingers ‘one by one’ and sexually assaulted her while they laughed
Marta Torrecillas was filmed being violently removed from a school in the city’s upmarket Eixample area as votes were being cast in the banned independence referendum yesterday
The clip, captured at Paul Claris School, showed her being manhandled as she tried to walk past officers in full body armour (right). She was later seen with her arm in a sling (left) after claiming her fingers had been broken
Ms Torrecillas later claimed that officers had sexually assaulted her and broken her fingers ‘deliberately, one by one’ while she was being dragged out of the voting station
Protest: Crwods of pro-referendum supporters celebrate on the street outside a polling station in Barcelona last night
Crackdown: Spanish police remove demonstrators from the street outside a polling station in Barcelona yesterday
Officers were seen stamping and kicking protesters as they stormed buildings and seized ballot boxes in Barcelona
It comes amid worldwide condemnation of brutality by Spanish police who were under orders to seal off polling stations and seize ballot boxes.
Miss Torrecillas described her alleged ordeal in a WhatsApp recording addressed to a friend called Laura and released to the Spanish press after the incident, insisting: ‘I was defending elderly people with open arms.
‘That’s all I was doing, defending elderly people because they hit children and the elderly. They got hold of me and threw me down the stairs and threw things at me. They broke my fingers deliberately, one by one.
‘Halfway down the stairs, with my clothes up, they touched my breasts while they laughed and hit me. Tell them Laura, tell them what they’re doing. I want everyone to know.
‘They have broken the fingers on my hand one by one deliberately. That is real evil, real evil.’ Local reports said she received medical attention from emergency services at the scene but refused to go to hospital so she could vote.
She was later pictured with her arm in a sling and one of her hands heavily bandaged, explaining exactly what had happened to her.
Officials revealed that hundreds of protesters were injured in a day of violence. Officers were seen kicking and stamping on protesters as they stormed buildings and seized ballot boxes.
Footage captured in the village of Sarria de Ter in the province of Girona showed authorities using an axe to smash down the doors of a polling station where Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was due to cast his vote.
In Barcelona, the region’s capital, officers fired rubber bullets at thousands of protesters demonstrating against their votes being denied.
Violence: Spanish National Police prevents people from entering a voting site for the controversial referendum in Barcelona yesterday
Spanish Guardia Civil officers smash down the door of a polling station where the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont was due to vote in Sarria de Ter
At least 888 were reportedly hurt in the clashes across Catalonia, the city’s mayor said, while Spain’s interior ministry said at least 11 police officers had been injured
A man covered in blood with his shirt torn is escorted by police officers as violent clashes broke out in the northeastern region
A man falls to the ground during scuffles with Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis
Boris Johnson condemned the violent clashes but said that the UK saw the vote as unconstitutional.
The Foreign Secretary said: ‘We are obviously worried by any violence but clearly the referendum, as I understand it, is not constitutional so a balance needs to be struck. We hope very much that things will calm down.’
Catalonia’s leader Carles Puigdemont said last night that the region had won the right to break away from Spain after 90 per cent of voters taking part in the banned referendum voted for independence, defying a sometimes violent police crackdown and fierce opposition from Madrid.
His declaration appeared to set the restive region on course for a deeper split with the Spanish government, after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy reiterated his government’s position that the vote was an illegal act, to which the state had reacted ‘with firmness and serenity’.
Any attempt to unilaterally declare independence is almost certain to be opposed not just by Madrid but also by a large section of the Catalan population which is deeply split on the issue.
The regional government said 2.26 million people actually took part in Sunday’s referendum, or 42.3 percent of the electorate.
People tend to the head wound of an elderly woman siting on a staircase as protesters take to the streets in Barcelona
Spain’s Prime Minister Mario Rajoy told a press conference that police had maintained the rule of law by preventing the vote in a crackdown which has drawn condemnation from world leaders
A man is dragged away, after scuffles broke out with Spanish Civil Guard officers in the village of Sant Julia de Ramis
A jubilant Puigdemont said his people had ‘won the right to an independent state’ and urged the European Union to stop looking ‘the other way’.
Puigdemont has said that in the event of a ‘yes’ victory he would declare independence for Catalonia, which accounts for 19 percent of Spain’s economic output.
At least 92 people were confirmed injured out of a total of 844 who needed medical attention, Catalan authorities said.
Further adding to tensions, unions and Catalan associations called a region-wide strike for Tuesday due to ‘the grave violation of rights and freedoms,’ urging people to take to the streets.
Helmeted police armed with batons moved in en masse early Sunday to seal off polling stations and seize ballot boxes, sparking clashes.
Videos posted on social media showed police dragging voters from polling stations by their hair, throwing people down stairs and attacking Catalan firefighters protecting polling stations.
The interior ministry said 33 police required treatment.
A police officer fires rubber bullets at thousands of protesters demonstrating against their votes being taken away
Some of the Catalans who are defying the court orders say they want to send a strong message of displeasure with central authorities
Rajoy declared the plebiscite had been blocked, and called the vote a process that ‘only served to sow division, push citizens to confrontation and the streets to revolt’, but left the door potentially open to negotiations on greater autonomy for the region.
The referendum was organised under the threat of reprisals and criminal charges but thousands of Catalans stood in defiance of the central government crying ‘Votarem’ – ‘We will vote’.
Puigdemont said in an address after polls closed: ‘With this day of hope and suffering, the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form of a republic.’
The referendum law foresees a declaration of independence soon after a ‘yes’ vote but it remains unclear if the regional government will actually do so.
Even before the vote, judicial officials ordered police to seize ballot papers, detain key organisers and shut down websites promoting the referendum after Madrid and the courts deemed it unconstitutional.
Thousands of people had gathered outside polling stations before dawn, joining those who had spent the night camped inside to ensure they would be open on the day.
In central Barcelona, riot police charged at demonstrators who were sitting on the ground at a polling station, and fired rubber bullets, witnesses said.
Police seize ballot boxes after storming a polling station in Barcelona this morning. Spain’s Constitutional Court has suspended the referendum and the Spanish government says it is illegal
Pro-referendum activists are pushed away from a polling station by a wall of armed police officers
Mr Puigdemont is joined by supporters at the polling station raided by officers in Sant Julia de Ramis this morning
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont casts his ballot in Cornella de Terri after his initial polling station was stormed by police
Riot police also stormed a polling station near Girona, smashing the glass doors of the sports centre where Puigdemont was due to vote and cutting a chain to force their way in.
But Puigdemont managed to vote anyway in nearby Cornella del Terri.
The crackdown drew a sharp rebuke from Catalan leaders and others including Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party.
The trouble caused Barcelona football club to play its La Liga tie against Las Palmas behind closed doors after the Spanish league refused to postpone the match.
Last night, world leaders condemned the violent scenes unfolding in the region.
Pope Francis also urged Europeans not to fear unity and to put aside nationalistic and other self-interests during a speech in Bologna in Italy.
He did not mention the police violence during Catalonia’s independence referendum – but in a speech to university students, he recalled that the European Union was borne out of the ashes of war to guarantee peace.
He warned that conflicts and other interests were now threatening those founding ideals.
Francis said: ‘Don’t be afraid of unity! May special interests and nationalism not render the courageous dreams of the founders of the European Union in vain.’
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said the club made the decision to play behind closed doors as a protest against the violent clashes rather than security concerns
FC Barcelona condemned the violence on the streets as it announced that its game today would be ‘played behind closed doors’
Players enter the field for the FC Barcelona game against Las Palmas at an empty 99,000-seater stadium
Club officials decided to hold the match behind closed doors after Spain’s professional football league refused to postpone the game
The match itself was an understandably low key affair as Barca opened up a five-point lead at the top of La Liga and moved 10 points clear of Real Madrid, who host Espanyol later on Sunday. Pictured is Lionel Messi, who scored twice during the game
Barcelona fans wait outside the Nou Camp in their thousands while the match takes place in silence in the venue
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon – who has campaigned for independence for Scotland – tweeted: ‘Some of the scenes in Catalonia are quite shocking and surely unnecessary. Just let people vote.’
European leaders also voiced their disquiet over the degree of violence used, and called for dialogue between regional and national leaders.
Belgian prime minister Charles Michel tweeted: ‘Violence can never be the answer. We condemn all forms of violence and reaffirm our call for political dialogue.’
A voter clashes with riot police in the town of Sant Julia De Ramis as a another man carries a child out of harm’s way
Spanish deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said officers in Catalonia are acting ‘in a proportionate manner’
A woman calls out in pain as she is caught between protesters and a wall of riot police during pro-referendum demonstrations
Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside a polling station
Firemen try to hold a group of people in front of Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis
Meanwhile tens of thousands of fans were banned from attending FC Barcelona’s football match with Las Palmas in a protest against the violence.
But in several areas, voting was peaceful.
Under a sea of umbrellas outside a school in Barcelona, a crowd gathered, among them elderly people in wheelchairs, families with baby carriages and parents clutching toddlers by the hand.
With no police in sight, they were able to cast their ballots, prompting scenes of jubilation.
‘That’s the great hope, to be able to vote freely like this despite the problems we’ve faced, I’m very happy. I can die peacefully,’ said Jose Mas Ribas, 79.
Although Catalans are divided over independence, most want to vote on the matter in a legal and binding plebiscite.
Catalonia already has significant control over education, healthcare and welfare, but the region says it pays more in taxes than it receives from Madrid.
Catalonia-based Briton ‘disgusted’ by Madrid’s response
Fiona Williamson, 44, (pictured left) lives in La Anoia, central Catalonia, with her husband Enric Riba Segura (pictured right) and their two children
A British woman at a polling station in Catalonia’s unofficial independence referendum said she was ‘disgusted’ by the response from the Spanish government.
Security forces clashed with protesters, leaving some 844 people injured after rubber bullets and baton charges were used, according to Catalan health officials.
Fiona Williamson, 44, lives in La Anoia, central Catalonia, with her husband Enric Riba Segura and their two children.
She was working at a polling station in Sant Marti de Tous on Sunday and said she was ‘disgusted by the response of the Spanish government’.
She added that there was no disruption at her venue but had heard reports of ‘old people carried away by National Police in some towns’.
‘There were fingers broken and sexually harassed young lady in another town,’ she said.
Originally from Hampstead, northwest London, Ms Williamson has lived in the region since July 1998 and said she supported the referendum because ‘I am in favour of democracy’.
She continued: ‘For the future of a small region with tension that has been growing over the last 11 years. People need to move forward. Find peace to live together.’
Footage from the venue showed hundreds of voters queuing up at the polling booth.
Ms Williamson said there was a 76% turnout, with 710 people casting their votes.
She described the referendum as ‘a fight for democracy and human rights’ and added: ‘I am British, brought up to be democratic. But here the laws are not for the people.’
She said: ‘So far here in Tous we are safe. At least for the moment. My husband and I are now together after a long day.
‘He was out in the fields watching to see if the Guardia Civils were coming. They did but couldn’t get past the tractors.
‘This village is just a small number of votes. None of the Spanish government’s concern.
‘Igualada the next nearest town has had a far different story to tell.’