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In a bid to stop foil their delcaration of independence, the Spanish government has on Friday suspended the Catalan Parliament with the help of Spain's constitutional court.

On Thursday, the court upheld a challenge by Catalonia's Socialist party – which opposes secession from Spain – ruling that allowing the Catalan parliament to meet on Monday and potentially declare independence would violate the rights of the party's MPs.

The court warned that any session carried out in defiance of its ban would be "null", and added that the parliament's leaders could face criminal action if they ignored the court order.

After a Police crackdown in Catalonia that was aimed at stopping the scheduled independence referendum from holding, the Catalan government disclosed that around 900 individuals were injured during the clash.

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild on Thursday, Puigdemont stated that he had not discounted the possibility that he could be arrested, but said he was not afraid. "I'm not surprised any more about what the Spanish government is doing," he said. "My arrest is also possible, which would be a barbaric step."

The Catalan leader also criticised the Spanish King on Wednesday and accused him of being the voice of the government's position on Catalonia and their policies.

"The king endorses the discourse and policies of the government of Rajoy, which have been catastrophic for Catalonia and deliberately ignore the millions of Catalans who do not think like them," he said.