BARCELONA (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, Catalonia's Supreme Court ordered the police to take over control of the polling stations that would be operational on the day of the referendum.
"In no case it is allowed to use excessively the police force or other similar measures [in implementing] the actions in accordance with the [Supreme] court ruling," an internal document seen by La Vanguardia newspaper read on Friday.
The use of force is only possible "in case of assaults on the third parties or the police," according to the document.
"Before making the decision on the use of force, it is necessary to take into account the possible consequences of the police interference … especially, if the situation concerns the minors, the seniors or other vulnerable groups of people," the document added.
Catalan authorities have sent invitations to 33 lawmakers from 17 countries inviting them to monitor the region's independence referendum scheduled for Sunday, the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) said in a press release on Friday.
"A delegation of 33 international MPs and MEPs landed in Catalonia this week to follow the current political situation and the self-determination referendum’s development on Sunday closely. The delegation’s spokesperson is the former Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitrij Rupel. Participants come from from 16 European countries and Israel and belong to a wide range of political tendencies," the statement read.
The statement added that several lawmakers had expressed their concerns over the situation with the civil rights in Catalonia and expressed hope that the Sunday vote would be held without obstacles.
According to the Diplocat, the program of the lawmakers' visit includes meetings with a number of local officials, such as Carme Forcadell, the speaker of the Catalan parliament, the region's President Carles Puigdemont and Catalan Foreign Minister Raul Romeva.
The Catalan authorities are planning to hold an independence vote on Sunday despite objections and actions to prevent the vote from Madrid. Particularly, Spain’s Constitutional Court has suspended the Catalan legislation allowing for holding the referendum thus making any preparations for it illegal.
